


You Make Me Feel Alive!

by namelesslunitic



Category: Family Guy
Genre: Christmas, Horror, M/M, Romance, Zombies, dogxbaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-25
Updated: 2011-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:45:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namelesslunitic/pseuds/namelesslunitic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Brian is about to find out just how true that old proverb can be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Family Guy or its characters.

The dog yawned and opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the cold sensation of the metal floor he was lying down on. The second thing he noticed was the naked boy he had pulled against his chest, whose warmth was currently combating the cold. It took Brian several seconds to register where he was and who he was with, but once he remembered everything from the previous night, a small smile poured across his lips.

_So it wasn't a dream._

The canine pulled the child closer against his fur covered torso and nuzzled the back of the boy's neck before placing a soft kiss on the top of his head. He had no idea how long he had been asleep or how much time he and Stewie had left, but for now, he was content to just lay here snuggled against the one person who brought him the most happiness, no matter how hard he had tried to run away from it. Sure, the circumstances that finally brought them together could have been better. Hell, they couldn't have been much worse, but there was nothing that could be done about that now. All that mattered was that he was truly content, for what felt like the first time in a long while. The fact that he could feel that way, knowing the horrors that waited outside those blast doors, only strengthened his convictions that this was right. He closed his eyes and caressed the child's side as he thought back to the day that set everything into motion and the events that had gotten them to this point. It seemed like ages ago.

* * *

It was a warm day in May, and Brian and Stewie were in the Prius on their way to the local ice cream parlor. There was nothing too unusual about that, except that Stewie had remained completely silent for the entire ride so far. Usually the child would be chatting up a storm, but today, for some reason, Stewie seemed distant. He looked to be thinking about something, and whatever it was, it must have been important. Brian would've been lying to himself if he'd said he wasn't a slight bit curious, if not a little worried also, but he figured if it was something Stewie wanted to discuss; the child would bring it up himself. So he didn't question it. Before long they arrived at the ice cream parlor. He parked the car and unbuckled Stewie, but the child didn't move to get out of the car. Instead he turned to face the dog, a serious look on his face.

"Bry, I need to talk to you about something."

Brian shifted himself in his seat so that he could better face the boy.

"What is it, Stewie?"

The child looked down for a second before lifting his head back up to stare intently at Brian.

"Before I say what needs to be said, I just want you to know that I wouldn't bring this up unless it was something that I simply  _needed_  to get out in the open. I've kept this to myself for quite some time, fearing the consequences of you discovering how I…feel…and not wanting to ruin my friendship with you, but keeping these feelings hidden away from you is tearing me apart, and I can't continue to pretend that I'm satisfied with the current state of our relationship because, you see, I want there to be so much more between us."

Stewie reached out his left hand and took Brian's right paw.

"Brian…I'm in love with you."

The child made sure that he said those words with a strong conviction that made it clear he meant what he said. Brian's expression was blank, but he could feel himself tense up at those words. This wasn't a big surprise or anything, but to have Stewie come out and say what he had been hinting at for so long was more than a little unsettling. This was mainly because the dog wasn't exactly sure how he should feel about Stewie's obvious affections for him. On one hand, it was nice to know that there was at least one person out there that loved him in that way, but on the other hand…it was Stewie, his best friend's infant son. It didn't get much more wrong than that. Stewie wasn't saying anything else, obviously waiting for him to respond. He sighed and gently pulled his paw away from the baby's hand.

"Look, Kid. I don't know what you want me to say."

The boy kept staring at him, but his confident gaze faltered a bit as nervousness took over.

"Well…I'd like to know if, maybe, there's a chance you could feel the same way."

This was something the dog had been asking himself for quite some time. Whenever he did have the occasional thought of what a relationship with Stewie would be like, it was never as horrific as it probably should have been, and as far as whether or not he was attracted to the boy in any way, that was a matter he just wasn't sure he was ready to confront himself on yet. He wasn't gay or anything, but there was definitely something about Stewie that appealed to him in some way, but he'd be damned if he were to let the boy know that. Still, he had to say something. He really didn't want to hurt Stewie, but even if he did have feelings for him, the stress from keeping a relationship like that up would just be too much. There was no sense in giving the kid any false hope. A relationship between them would never work out.

"I'm sorry, Stewie, but that can never happen. I mean, I care about you, but it's not like that, and I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise. Besides, even if I did feel that way about you, a relationship between us would never be normal. There's no way we could keep something like that up. I'm sorry you feel the way you do, but nothing is ever going to happen between us, so the best thing for you to do is to just try and move on from this phase."

Stewie slammed his fist down in frustration on the edge of his car seat.

"This is exactly what I was afraid you'd say! Damn it, Brian! This isn't a phase! I'm not going to just 'move on'. I'm. In. Love. With. You. And those feelings aren't going to change. You may not realize it, but I know that, deep down, you  _could_  feel the same way if you'd just open up your mind to the possibility of it. We're so close, Brian! Taking things to the next level wouldn't be that much of a leap. So what if we can't have a normal relationship? We've  _never_ had a normal relationship. What are we to each other anyway? I know what you are to me, but what am I to you? Just a friend? A family member? I want to be  _yours_ , Brian. No one else will do."

The child lowered his head and shook it, fists clenched.

"This isn't a phase. I wish it was…but it isn't."

Brian felt his heart swell at Stewie's words. He'd never heard anyone talk that way about him before, and it felt incredibly good. Under different circumstances, he'd give Stewie a shot in a heartbeat. It's not like things could get much weirder between them, but this was still wrong on so many levels. It killed him to see Stewie like this. The child looked so defeated, completely lovesick and knowing that there was little to no chance of his love ever being reciprocated by the one he desired. Brian knew that feeling all too well, and he wanted nothing more right now than to make the boy feel better. Unfortunately, the one thing that would make Stewie feel better right now was something Brian could never give him in good conscience, and continuing to discuss this would only serve to make it even more difficult to remember that. Stewie was just a kid, a screwed up one at that. The last thing he needed right now was to get mixed up in what could quite possibly be the sickest romance to ever grace the planet. Brian only had one thing to offer at the moment.

"Do you still want some ice cream, Kid?"

Brian's words were void of any emotion whatsoever, and he felt like a complete jackass for acting like he was completely ignoring everything the child had said in his heartfelt speech. The dog wasn't surprised when Stewie looked back up at him with a mixture of shock and anger on his face.

"Fuck you, Brian."

The infant's words came across as cold and disappointed. Brian didn't get angry at Stewie. He knew it must seem really insulting for him to be trying to change the subject at a time like this, but the longer he dwelled on the idea of he and Stewie together, the more uncomfortable he became.

"I take that as a no."

It was another emotionless reply, and he could tell that it only angered the infant further to continue to have his feelings ignored. Stewie huffed in annoyance and sat back in his seat. Brian buckled him back in, making sure not to touch the baby anywhere that would add insult to injury in this situation, and cranked the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and turned to head back home. The ride there was completely silent and the atmosphere was unbearably tense. Stewie was looking outside the window, with his arms folded, fuming. On some level Brian understood why the boy was so angry with him, but really, what was he expecting?

_Did he really expect for me to feel the same way? Did he really expect that things would work out? He's smart. He knows how wrong something like this is. Then again, he's never given a fuck about right or wrong before, aside from a couple of instances. How did this happen? Why does Stewie have to feel this way? Will he ever forgive me for shutting him down like that? Is this the end of our friendship?_

The dog felt a pang of sadness at that thought. He didn't want to lose Stewie. The kid meant too much to him, but maybe this was a situation where he would have to ignore his own pain and focus on what was best for Stewie. He wasn't sure where things would go from here. He was hoping they could just forget this ever happened and move on, but that really didn't seem likely. He had a lot to think about.

At that thought, Brian drove the car up into the driveway of their home. As soon as he stopped the car and unbuckled Stewie, the boy immediately went to open the car door, but Brian, grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop him.

"Listen, Stewie. I'm sor…"

The baby yanked his arm free and scoffed at the canine.

"Save it, Brian. I've heard enough. You don't care about me or my feelings, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop your acting and just leave me be."

Without giving Brian a chance to say another word, Stewie hopped out of the car, leaving the door open, and ran inside the house. The dog sighed, reached over, and closed the door. God, he felt like such an asshole right now. He'd done the right thing, but it sure as hell didn't feel that way. What it really felt like was that he'd just thrown the best relationship he'd ever had out the window, and that idea was causing an overwhelming feeling of grief to take over. Just the thought of losing Stewie was more painful than he'd ever imagined it could be. He laid his forehead against the steering wheel and hit it with the side of his fist. He'd finally gotten the one thing he wanted most out of life, but it had been from the one person he could never accept it from.

_Typical._

* * *

Whenever he and Stewie had a falling out, it usually didn't take too long for them to patch things up, but this time, things were different. While the initial anger Stewie had harbored against him had quickly faded, for the remainder of the week, the child had still gone out his way to avoid him. People say, "You never know what you have until it's gone." This must be what they were talking about. Brian had never really thought about it much before, but for a long while, the majority of his time had been spent with Stewie. Just a couple of days without the child constantly in his ear made him feel like something was desperately missing in his life, but it did provide him with the necessary time he needed to sort out his thoughts about what his next move should be now that Stewie's feelings for him were finally out in the open. As the days rolled by, Brian spent most of his time sitting on the couch, thinking about what he should do. The first step in figuring all this out was finding out the answer to a question Stewie had asked him that day in the car.

_What is Stewie to me?_

He mulled over this question for days. The simple answer was "many things". Stewie was a friend, a family member, a partner, the only person he felt safe turning to when the world was against him. Stewie had become his safe place. He was at his happiest when he was with Stewie, but did that equal love? Brian tried to ignore how morally wrong something like that would be and just focused on how he truly felt. There was a deep emotional connection between him and the child. There was no denying that. It was a connection he had always longed to feel with a woman, but no matter how much he forced himself to feel something for the women in his life, that connection had never really been there. It wasn't there with Lois, and it wasn't there with Jillian.

_It was there with Stewie._

He gulped. It was a frightening revelation to him. Just thinking it felt so much more right than it should. All this time he'd been searching for his female Stewie, but what was the point in that when he could actually have the genuine article. It seemed like a no-brainer. He should accept Stewie's feelings and see if a relationship could actually work between them. Sure, there was that whole issue of him not being gay, but the feelings were there. What did he really have to lose? That's what would make both of them happy. But still, it was unequivocally wrong. And who was he to decide that Stewie could actually handle something like that. Sure, the kid was smart beyond his years, but he was still just that, a kid. Brian sighed.

_He's too young to be involved in a serious romantic relationship, no matter how much he may think it's what he wants, and I'm a sick bastard for even considering giving him a shot. I care about Stewie, and I'd hate to lose him, but maybe the best thing I could do for him right now is just pack my shit and leave. Maybe we've gotten_ too _close, and we just need to get away from each other. If I stay here with him, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to resist him. No good can come from us continuing this relationship. I could get sent to prison, and he could end up scarred for life. He's still young, he'll get over me leaving one day, and it's not like I have many years left to grieve over something like this anyway. It's time for us to go our separate ways._

He hated it, but that was the right decision to make here. He had to get out of this house before he did something he would regret for the rest of his life. Even with his mind made up, it took him several minutes before he was able to muster up the strength to hop off of the couch and make his way upstairs to the hallway. Stewie was in his room, the place he had remained for most of the past week. The dog walked up to the door and knocked twice.

"Stewie…can I come in? We need to talk."

There was no response from the other end, but Brian was able to make out the sound of something being removed from in font of the door. The child must have barricaded himself in to prevent any unwanted intrusions. The dog waited a moment before opening the door. Stewie was sitting at his small plastic table, facing the wall, with his back towards the canine. Brian shut the door behind him and walked over to take a seat beside Stewie. The child kept his face turned away, not wanting to look at the dog. Brian took a moment to collect his thoughts before beginning.

"Stewie, I know how upset you are with me right now, and you have every right to be. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did after you told me how you felt. It was wrong, but you have to understand, I didn't know what else to do. You're feelings may be genuine; I have no doubt that they are, but they're also unnatural. You're too young to be worrying about things like falling in love and wanting to spend the rest of your life with one person in particular. For goodness sake, you're only one, Kid. You may not see it that way, but it's the truth, Stewie."

He stopped, waiting to see if there was anything the boy wanted to say. When he got no response, he sighed and kept going.

"I said the best thing for you to do is to just move on and forget about me, and I still believe that's what's best for you, but there's no way that's going to happen while I'm living here. That's why…"

Brian paused, knowing that what came next would not go over too well no matter how he phrased it. There was no sense in sugar coating it.

"I've decided to leave."

The child did nothing for a second before slowly turning his head to face the dog.

"W-What?"

Brian couldn't stand the pained look in Stewie's eyes, especially knowing that he was the cause of it, but he continued, though his voice was slightly shaking now.

"I'm leaving. This relationship we share, it's all wrong. You were right. We're very close, but there comes a point when close becomes too close and the only right thing that can be done is to break ties with the person you're closest too, especially when that person is someone as young as you are."

Brian went to say something else, but he was stopped by Stewie launching himself at him and gripping him into a fiercely tight hug.

"No! You can't leave! I can't live in this house without you! I'm sorry, Brian! I take it all back! I was just being stupid! Don't leave me!"

The boy was crying, tears wetting the dog's fur. Brian wrapped his arms around the boy, forcing himself to remain strong despite wanting to break down into tears as well. They stayed like that for a while. Stewie's crying began to get quieter, so Brian began speaking again.

"You weren't being stupid, Stewie. You meant what you said. I'm sorry, but I have to go. It's what's best for the both of us."

He gave the infant one last squeeze before releasing him and forcing their bodies apart. Stewie just stared up at him, not wanting to believe that this was happening.

"I'm packing up and leaving tomorrow. I haven't told the others yet because I figured you should be the first to know. I'll tell them tonight after dinner."

He got up out of the chair and went to leave the room, but before he could open the door, he heard Stewie behind him.

"You're pathetic."

The dog turned around and froze. The child's eyes were still shimmering with unshed tears, but beyond that, the gaze Stewie was giving him was one of emptiness. He seemed almost hollow, and the dog found that he couldn't bring himself to look away no matter how much he wanted to in that moment. After realizing he had Brian's attention, the boy kept talking.

"I don't know why you're leaving, but it sure as hell isn't because 'it's what's best for the both of us'. Out of all the things I've done, why, tell me, why would you finally draw the line at something like this? What you're doing doesn't make any sense, Brian. I'd rather you just flat out rejected me rather than have you just up and leave. That's what will really mess me up, Brian. I have no fucking clue what I would do without you as at least a friend."

The dog sighed.

"I've never been completely ok with everything you've done, Stewie, but really, those are things you would have done no matter what I said anyway. At least with this, I can actually prevent you from making a huge mistake. You may think you'll be ok continuing this friendship, but something like that will destroy you emotionally. I have to go."

There was nothing left to say, He had made his point. Brian turned around and opened the door.

"I love you."

The child's voice was barely audible as he whispered through a sob, and Brian chose to ignore it as he walked out the door.

* * *

That night he told the rest of the family. When they questioned him about his reasons for leaving, all he could tell them was it was just something he had to do. Nobody questioned him beyond that. They probably figured he'd be back just like he always was, but they had no way of knowing how serious he was this time. After that, he didn't see Stewie for the rest of the night. Which, he thought, was probably for the best.

The next morning he loaded all of his belongings into his Prius and said goodbye to everyone except Stewie, who was unsurprisingly absent during his departure. Everyone made him promise to keep in contact. He lied and said he would, not wanting to try and make up an excuse for why that wasn't an option. After one final wave goodbye, Brian hopped inside the vehicle and started the engine. As he went to put the car in reverse, he took a minute to look up at Stewie's bedroom window. The boy was there, staring at him. Brian couldn't make out the mixture of emotions on the infant's face, but he felt a chill go down his spine for the brief second their eyes met.

_Ignore it, Brian. This is the right thing to do._

He gave the boy a small smile in a pathetic attempt at reassuring him. Stewie immediately turned away from the window and walked away. The dog felt his heart sink. As far as he was concerned that was the last time he would ever see his little buddy, but little did he know, fate had other plans. He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway before driving down the road, away from the life he once knew.


	2. Part II

Six months went by. In that time Brian managed to begin a whole new life away from the Griffins despite only living one town away in Providence. He had originally planned to leave the state, but when the moment came, he couldn't bring himself to move so far away from his family. He may not ever see them again, but at least he could take comfort in the fact that they were never too far away. Getting started again had been a long and tough process. He'd had some money saved away, so he was able to afford an apartment right away, but now that he was living on his own, he also had to get a full-time job in order to sustain himself. Eventually, he was able to acquire a job at a local liquor store, which ended up being a real rewarding experience considering he had a great love for booze. The job had ended up being the best part about his move, and it was probably the only thing that kept him from running home when he really began to think about his old life on Spooner St. Besides that, he didn't really have much else going for him. He'd tried to make some new acquaintances in his new neighborhood, but those attempts always ended in failure. The same could be said about the frequent times he'd tried to hook up with the local women. There had been one time when he had successful managed to get one to agree to go on a date with him, and it actually hadn't been too bad. They had even made out a little. Unfortunately, not long after that began, he had found himself imagining that it was actually Stewie he was kissing which prompted him to pull away in alarm, shocking the woman and causing a brief fight that resulted in her leaving. He hadn't tried his luck with another female too many times since then. All of his social interactions mainly consisted of him just going through the motions and lifelessly acting his way through conversations. He missed his family and friends, but most of all, he missed Stewie. He hadn't seen the child in half a year, but the boy was still there under his skin. It scared him. When he closed his eyes he could hear the boy calling his name, begging him to come home.

_Brian…Brian…Brian…Brian_

"Brian!"

The dog's eyes shot open as he looked over at his boss who was currently shouting his name. He shook his head to clear it before responding.

"Sorry. What is it, Mr. Adams?"

The man tossed Brian a hefty set of keys which he barely caught.

"Something came up. My wife called, and she was saying some crazy shit. She sounded pretty scared, so I'm leaving early to go see what's wrong with her. I need you to lock up for the night."

Brian set the keys on the counter he was currently standing by.

"Sure thing, boss. I'll take care of it."

The man nodded and exited the store, leaving Brian to manage it for the next two hours. Oddly enough nobody showed up for that entire time. It wasn't like the store was ever packed or anything, but it usually had at least one or two people in it regularly. Closing time came, and he flipped the open sign to the other side. He gave the store a quick once over before heading outside into the winter night air and locking up. It was cold outside and quiet. Even with Brian's keen sense of hearing he wasn't able to make out anything but the sound of the wind.

_That's strange…_

He griped his winter coat tightly before proceeding to walk down the sidewalk toward his apartment. For a while, nobody was in sight, but after a couple of minutes of walking, he was able to make out the image of two people in the distance. They were running toward him. Upon closer inspection, Brian realized that one of the people was being chased by the other. He saw the person fall, and the chaser quickly got on top and began attacking. He soon heard the sound of a man screaming which caused Brian to begin running toward them, hoping he could help.

"Hey! Stop!"

As the sounds of the screaming man grew louder, Brian was able to better see what was going on. When he finally realized what was happening, he stopped dead in his tracks. The man was being eaten alive by another man. The dog felt his knees get weak and began to get sick to his stomach at the sight. He didn't know what to do. The agonizing screams began to grow quiet as he saw the light leave the man's eyes. Brian couldn't take it. He vomited on the sidewalk. The attacker heard this and looked up from his meal to gaze at the dog hungrily. It took Brian a second to realize he had been noticed, but once he did, he quickly pulled himself together and began running in the opposite direction. He had no idea what just happened. All he knew was he needed to get the fuck out of there and find someone. As he rounded a corner down another street, he saw a crowd of people in the distance.

"Help! There's some lunatic on the loose! Call the police!"

He began to become short of breath. His running slowed but he pressed on, gasping for air as he called toward the crowd.

"You…need to…get somebody…down there. A man was…just…eaten ali…"

He paused his sentence as he came a couple of yards within distance of the crowd. They all had the same hungry gaze the attacker had when he'd saw him. He gulped. They were all staring and making their way towards him. He turned to run in the opposite direction, but there was now another crowd of people with the same look being led by the man he had originally seen. He was trapped.

_What do I do?_

His mind began racing, trying to come up with some method of escape. The alleys were blocked off, so that wasn't an option. His only hope was one of the nearby stores. He ran to the door, but it was locked.

_Shit!_

He had to think of something else. His eyes began scanning the area frantically, searching for a solution, but his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. The sound caused him to jump in fright and begin searching his body for an entry point before realizing he hadn't been the target. He looked over to see one of the people on the ground dead with a bullet hole in their skull. Another shot rang out, and this time, Brian was able to realize it was coming from up above. He looked up and was both elated and disturbed to see Stewie, in his regular shirt and overalls, flying on a jetpack with a small gun aimed toward the crowd. The boy fired again, taking down another one of Brian's attackers. He looked over at Brian and adjusted his flight path to head toward the dog. In no time, Stewie landed beside Brian. He took a couple more shots, emptying the clip before throwing the gun to the ground and looking at the dog.

"Grab on!"

Brian didn't need to be told twice. He quickly latched on to the jetpack and felt his feet leave the ground as he and Stewie slowly flew up into the air, obviously taking a toll on the flying machine due to their combined weight. Brian watched as Stewie struggled to steer the jetpack and keep it flying. The kid seemed to be heading for the rooftop of the store he had been trying to enter just a moment ago. Brian looked down and saw that the two crowds had now converged on his previous location, and they were reaching up towards him and Stewie, a hair's width away from being able to grab them. He shut his eyes, terrified.

"Get us out of here, Kid!"

The child yelled through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying dammit! If you weren't so bloody heavy, we wouldn't have this problem! The device can only carry so much weight, and it looks like we're dangerously close to exceeding that limit!"

Brian didn't say anything else. He just looked at the keys still clutched firmly in his paw. The ring had a ton of keys on it, and it was kind of heavy.

_It's worth a shot._

He chunked the keys to the ground, and they immediately began ascending at a faster rate. It wasn't too much faster, but it was enough. Brian looked up and watched as the edge of the rooftop got closer and closer. It seemed like they we're going to make it, but at that thought he heard a loud and rapid beeping noise coming from the jetpack followed by Stewie shouting.

"Shit!"

Brian didn't know what was going on, but it obviously wasn't good.

"What's the problem now?"

The boy looked over his should to look at the dog.

"We're almost out of fuel! At this rate, we'll run out before we make it to the top!"

Brian could see the wheels inside Stewie's head spinning as the baby rattled his brain to come up with a plan. The child's eyes eventually stopped on the edge of the rooftop.

"Brian! Try to climb up a little higher and grab on to the edge! I'll get us closer to the wall!"

The dog nodded his head, and pulled himself further up the jetpack. Stewie steered the machine so that it went backward, allowing Brian to get right up against the wall. They were about a couple of feet away. The dog reached up with one arm as far as he could. The edge was just barely out of reach.

_Just a little more._

He felt his finger tips touch the edge, and was about to breathe a sigh of relief but stopped as he realized they were losing altitude. His finger tips fell away from the edge, and he began to panic. The snarling of the people below them rang in his ears along with the sounds of Stewie cursing as he struggled to get them just a little bit higher. There wasn't much time to think. Brian took a deep breath and pulled himself against the jetpack. He pulled his feet so that they were pressed against the back and shimmied his way to the very top so that his toes just barely touched the top.

_Hear goes nothing!_

With every ounce of strength he had, he launched himself off of the jetpack and stretched out his arms toward the building. His paws came in contact with the rooftop, and he clutched on to it for dear life. He looked down at Stewie, who had begun ascending again, and reached out his paw.

"Stewie!"

The boy looked up and reached out for the dog's paw, touching his finger tips. Brian curled his fingers around Stewie's and pulled him closer until the boy's hand was completely in his paw.

"Drop the jetpack!"

The child did as he was told and unstrapped himself from the machine. The heavy metal object fell down onto one of the people below them, and Brian threw Stewie on top of the roof before grabbing onto it again. With Stewie's help he was able to pull himself up to safety, where he immediately fell down in exhaustion. Both he and Stewie were panting heavily. That had been too close. Stewie joined him in lying down on the ground as they took the moment to catch their breath. Several minutes later they were finally able to breathe normally again, and Brian's mind instantly begin to fill up with all kinds of questions. He looked over at the boy lying next to him.

"What the hell just happened?"

Stewie sat himself up and looked over at the dog.

"Isn't it obvious? You were just attacked by zombies."

The boy said it so nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. Brian had a completely different reaction to this news. At first he simply nodded his head, but once the truth of what Stewie had just told him finally sunk in, his eyes got wide and he began shouting.

"What. The. Fuck? Zombies! How the hell are there zombies?"

Stewie shrugged.

"I have no idea, but that's not important. What is important is that they're here, and if I hadn't shown up when I did, you'd have ended up just like them."

Brian was confused by this answer. Surely, Stewie had at least some idea of how this happened. The infant was a genius after all. And if he had not known Stewie previously, he'd probably be a little more hysterical at this situation, but honestly, stranger things had happened. It had just been so long since something this insane had happened in his life, but now that he was with Stewie and taking this new scenario in, it amazed him how easy it was to slip right back into his old role of Stewie's "partner in crime". He wasn't so much shocked now than he was terrified at what all this meant. Those had been zombies. As crazy as that sounded, he could accept that, but there was still something else that was bugging him.

"How  _did_ you find me, Stewie? And how did you know that I'd be in danger?"

The boy brushed himself off before standing up and extending his hand to help up his companion. He began speaking as the dog stood up.

"You remember that whole incident where we got stuck in that bank vault for the weekend? The one where you told me you were suicidal. Well, after that, I began to worry, so I installed a tracking device in your collar. That way, if you were to ever go anywhere near that safety deposit box, I'd be able to get to you in case you were to ever consider doing anything drastic. That's how I knew where to find you. I've been keeping track of your location all this time. As for how I knew you would be in danger, I kind of figured you would be, considering Quahog came under attack earlier today. I knew the zombies would eventually make their way over to Providence, so I grabbed my jetpack and gun and went to check on you."

Brian listened carefully to every word that came out of Stewie's mouth. Something was off about the boy's tone. This wasn't the Stewie he remembered. The boy was too cold and apathetic, but there was still something about the way Stewie was acting that was familiar. The dog just couldn't exactly figure out what it was though. He thought about this as the child spoke, but when the infant mentioned Quahog, he began to grow concerned about the rest of his family.

"The zombies were in Quahog? What about the others? Are they ok?"

The boy slightly frowned. It was barely noticeable, but Brian caught it.

"I'm sorry, Brian. They didn't make it. There was nothing I could do. I had to make sure you were ok."

The dog went stiff. He didn't want to believe it. His family was…gone. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but his sadness was soon mixed with anger as he started yelling at the baby.

"You left them! You fucking  _left_  them! What the hell, Stewie! That's your family! How could you just leave them to die?"

Stewie scoffed at this.

"Please, Brian. I've never cared about them before. Why would I give a fuck if they were mauled by zombies? You, on the other hand, I care a great deal about, but maybe you forgot about that over the past several months."

He sighed.

"It doesn't matter now. What's done is done. They're dead. The best thing for you to do is to just move on. I'm going to need you to focus if we are to survive this ordeal."

Brian didn't know what to say. His brief flash of anger faded away. What had happened to his friend? Sure, Stewie had never been the most caring individual, except when it came to him, but the way he was acting now was just  _scary_. Still, the boy had a point. There was nothing they could do about the others now, and they would need to be at the top of their game if they wanted to survive. There would be time for grieving later. He tried to ignore how upset he was for the moment and focus on what to do next. He wiped the moisture from his eyes.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, and I intend to find out, but you're right, right now we need to focus on surviving, so what do we do now?"

The boy, satisfied that the dog wasn't going to drag this conversation out any longer than it needed to be, surveyed the area, trying to determine what would be the best course of action. He walked over to the edge of the building and looked down at the zombies below them. They were still fixated on their position, hands in the air and snarling.

"Well, it looks like we're stuck up here for now. We can't go anywhere until they leave."

A gust of wind blew by causing the boy to shiver.

"Though I'd much prefer to find someplace a little warmer. I didn't have time to dress properly for such cold weather, and I'm not sure how long I can last out here in nothing but my normal attire."

Stewie placed a hand on his chin as he continued to think about their predicament. While that was going on, Brian looked over at the air vent over on the other side of the roof.

"Hey, Stewie, what about that vent over there? Do you think we can get that grate off and climb down into the store? The door was locked, so we should be safe in there, at least for a little while, and I bet it's warm enough for us to spend the night."

The baby turned and looked at the vent Brian was talking about. He walked over and inspected it. The grate was held in place by four flat-head screws, one in each corner. Removing it seemed like a pretty simple task. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of several quarters he'd had stored away just in case he ever wanted to use them on any of the local kiddy rides located at the various stores back in Quahog. He placed the quarter into the groove on the head of the screw and tried to turn it to the left. Turning the screw turned out to be pretty difficult. His hands were freezing, and the metal had pretty much frozen to the grate. Brian watched as the boy struggled in getting the screw to move. He walked over and placed his paw over the child's hand to aid him. The two of them pushed hard enough to get the screw to turn until it was loose enough to remove by hand. They repeated this process for the remaining screws, causing the grate to fall onto the rock-covered rooftop. Stewie pocketed his coin and went in first, followed closely by Brian. They made their way down the ventilation system before stopping at another grate that opened up into the store. This one was held in place by four more screws. Unfortunately, these screws were only accessible from the other side. The boy cursed.

"Damn it!

The child began kicking the grate in a futile attempt to dislodge it from the ventilation system. Brian watched as Stewie got increasingly more frustrated with each curse inducing kick.

"Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Finally, the boy gave up, exhausted and huffing for breathe. The dog placed a hand on the infant's shoulder and pulled him aside. He aimed his foot at the grate and gave it a forceful kick that caused the entire ventilation system to shake violently. The kick left a good dent in the grate, so Brian kicked it again and again and again, slowly removing it from its secure position. He prepared to give the grate one last good kick, but just as he was about to do that, the ventilation system began to tremble, and before he could react, the section they were currently in came crashing down to the floor as one side fell away, causing the dog and baby to fall back and roll out onto the floor. Stewie landed on the ground first, facing the ceiling, and was soon joined by Brian who landed right on top of him, facing the floor. They both froze in place. Brian knew he needed to move, but he couldn't ignore how great it felt to be this close to Stewie. It wasn't until the child cleared his throat that he was able to break free from his trance and think coherently.

"I know you must have missed me, Brian, but is this really the time or place for this kind of thing?"

The dog blushed and shot up from his cozy position. He wanted to say something in defense, but nothing came to mind. He was too out of practice when it came to his banter with Stewie. Instead, he just stood up and helped the child to his feet. They took a moment to look around the building and realized they had landed in a gun store. It wasn't a very large store, but what little space there was contained hardly anything but wall-to-wall handguns, rifles, and shotguns. A smirk crept across Stewie's face.

"Well, I say, that's convenient. What are the odds of us landing in the one store that provides us with the necessary means to defend ourselves against that horrible horde of zombies outside?"

Brian wasn't as excited as Stewie, but he couldn't deny how lucky they were.

"I'm going to assume not likely."

The dog watched as the baby ran over to gaze at the assorted weaponry like a normal child would in a candy store. The dog couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. It was good to see Stewie somewhat happy, even if that happiness was brought about by a bunch of killing machines. His attention was broken though once he began to register what could only be described as moaning sounds coming from outside. He turned toward the front door and made his way over to the blinded windows. He chanced a peek outside and saw that the group that had attacked him was now dispersing. He breathed a sigh of relief, and walked back over to join his friend.

"So…do you think we're safe in here for the night because…"

He stopped and yawned before continuing.

"It's pretty late, and all this excitement has made me tired."

Stewie turned his attention away from the rifle he was greedily clutching to answer Brian.

"I think we'll be fine. I don't think they'll be able to figure out we're in here. As long as we're quiet and don't draw any attention to the store, we should be able to rest for the night."

He put down the rifle and stretched.

"It's probably a good idea to go ahead and rest up. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll sift through all these weapons and decide which ones we'll be able to carry with us. Once we do that, we'll be able to think up a game plan."

Satisfied with Stewie's answer, Brian walked over to a nearby corner and lay down to rest for the night. He half expected Stewie to join him, and he was sort of disappointed when the boy walked over to the corner opposite him and laid down to go to sleep. It was probably for the best though. Stewie had been acting strangely from the minute they had escaped that group of zombies. The boy used to be much more affectionate towards him, and though the kid obviously still cared about him, that care was nowhere near as apparent as it used to be. Maybe Stewie had actually gotten over him during the several months they had been apart. Brian wasn't really sure how to feel about that idea. The longer he and Stewie had been apart, the more he began to accept the fact that, maybe, he actually did harbor romantic feelings for the child. He knew he was sick, but that didn't make the feelings any less genuine. If Stewie had moved on though, it would be wrong to take everything back now, but he couldn't help but wish the boy had chosen to lie beside him for the night. Brian mulled over these thoughts until he was too tired to think anymore. With one last yawn he whispered.

"Goodnight, Kid."

The baby didn't hear him because he was already asleep, but Brian was sure he saw a small smile form on the child's lips before his own sleep took over.

* * *

Later that night, Brian awoke to the sound of teeth chattering. He looked over toward the direction of the sound and noticed that it was coming from Stewie. The boy was clutching himself tightly and shivering. The ventilation system they had destroyed had made it so the store could no longer heat up like it normally would, and there was nothing in the store that could be used to provide the boy with some sort of covering. The dog debated with himself about whether or not he should go over and sleep next to the child in order to warm him up. It seemed like the most generous thing to do. As Stewie's shivering became more violent, he decided he couldn't leave the boy to freeze all night. He walked over to the corner Stewie was in, laid down beside him, and pulled the child against his fur-covered torso. It took a minute, but the infant's shivering finally subsided as he snuggled the front of his body closer against the dog. Brian closed his eyes to go back to sleep, trying to ignore the feelings of longing bubbling up inside him. Once he was asleep, he began dreaming about what it would be like if he and Stewie were together. It was nice.

* * *

Brian woke up that morning to find that Stewie was no longer beside him. Instead, the kid was off on the other side of the store inspecting weapons. The dog rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting up and walking over to see what his companion was up to. Before he could say anything, the child threw him a pistol.

"Here, take this."

Brian caught the pistol and looked it over as Stewie began speaking again.

"That's a standard Smith & Wesson M&P Compact 9mm pistol. It can hold up to twelve rounds plus one extra round in the chamber. That's thirteen kills if you use it properly. There were several of these lying around, and I figured we'd both be able to carry a couple without them weighing us down too much."

He stopped talking, allowing the dog to get a feel for his new weapon. The dog was never a big fan of guns, but he couldn't deny how good the weapon felt in his paw. It fit nicely into his palm, and it was extremely light for a gun. A surge of power rushed through him. He could get used to having one of these. He smirked.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

Happy the dog approved of the gun, the boy continued.

"I'm glad you find it suitable."

He reached over and retrieved another weapon that Brian instantly recognized as a shotgun.

"You'll also be carrying this compact shotgun. It's got a strap, so it'll be easy to carry."

The child handed the shotgun to the dog. Brian took the shotgun, looked at it, and placed it over his shoulder so that the strap stretched diagonally across his shoulder. Once again, it was a perfect fit. Stewie chuckled at the sight.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?"

The dog took the shotgun off and handed it back to the boy.

"Not really, but I'm sure you'll teach me well."

The boy nodded his head.

"Trust me, Brian. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be a fucking expert with these things."

The next several hours were spent preparing. Stewie demonstrated the basics of how to use the shotgun, and Brian picked up on the techniques quickly. There was no way to test his shooting skills, but by the end of his crash course, the dog was fairly confident in his abilities to handle the shotgun. After that, Stewie loaded the weapons with ammunition. There were no bags, so they could pretty much only carry what their weapons would allow. Still, that was a pretty good amount of firepower. Stewie carried two of the pistols he had found, giving him twenty-six shots, twenty-six shots that were sure to hit their targets, and Brian carried one pistol along with the shotgun. Stewie loaded his pockets with as many shotgun shells as he could reasonably carry, giving Brian about an extra eight or nine shots. With their weapons ready, they began to put together a plan for what to do once they were outside. Stewie went first.

"Alright, first things first, we need to get some supplies together. We need food and water, so I suggest we head for the nearest Stop 'N Shop."

The dog nodded his head in approval.

"There's one right down the road from here. I'll lead the way."

With their plan put together, they walked over to the locked door and took a quick look outside. The zombies were nowhere in sight, leaving the streets deserted. Feeling confident, Brian unlocked the door and went to open it before being stopped by Stewie who placed a hand on his arm.

"Remember, Brian, always aim for the head. Hitting them anywhere else won't matter. A headshot is the only thing that will put them down for good."

With that, the boy removed his hand and allowed the dog to open the door so they could exit the building. Stewie looked down both sides of the street. There was a small group of zombies all the way down on the left side of the street, but it appeared the zombies were oblivious to their location. Deciding they were safe for the moment, the boy motioned for Brian to lead the way. The dog turned and began walking in the opposite direction of the zombies. He made sure to keep his eyes and ears open for any sign of the monsters while still maintaining a fairly quick pace. They stopped at every corner to make sure there were no zombies near them before continuing. It didn't take them too long to reach the end of the road where the Stop 'N Shop was. The store was just down the next road to the left. Unfortunately, it was also infested with dozens upon dozens of zombies. Brian and Stewie ducked behind a car in the parking lot to avoid being seen. Stewie spoke up in a whisper.

"Shit! They must be going after the food in there. We'll have to lure them away somehow."

The boy noticed another car down at the far end of the parking lot, and it gave him an idea.

"I've got it! I'll go over and set off that car's alarm. The noise should be enough to lure the zombies away from the store. Once the area is clear, you can run in and secure the building."

Brian frowned at this.

"And how do you expect to get out of that? As soon as you set off that alarm, every zombie in the area will be focused on your location."

The child batted his hand at the dog.

"Brian, it's me. I'll think of something. We don't have time to argue about this. The sooner we get some supplies, the sooner we'll be able to think of a more permanent solution to our problem. Just do what I said. I promise I won't be too far behind you."

Without another word, Stewie began making his way over to the car. Brian still didn't like this plan, but he knew there really was no sense in arguing. Once Stewie got something in his head, he was going to see it through no matter what. All he could do was keep an eye on the Stop 'N Shop, and make a run for it as soon as he saw an opening. He crawled over to another nearby car and climbed under it, making sure to keep himself hidden. After making sure he had a good view of the Stop 'N Shop, he prepared himself mentally to make a break for it as soon as the store was clear of zombies. He didn't have too much time to prepare though because it didn't take long for Stewie to set off the car alarm. Immediately, all of the zombies turned their attention to the commotion being made and began walking towards the car. Before Brian knew it, he was surrounded by zombies on all sides. He held his breathe and waited for the crowd to pass by. He watched the slow shuffle of the monsters' feet as they took their time making their way toward the car. Brian could feel his heart beating like crazy as the reality of the situation finally hit him. One wrong move and he wouldn't survive this. Seconds felt like hours, and all he could do was lie there and wait for the crowd to pass by. He wasn't sure how long he was under there, but the relief he felt once the crowd had finally passed by was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He crawled out from under the car and began running toward the Stop 'N Shop. None of the zombies noticed him. As he ran, he kept an eye out for Stewie, but the kid was nowhere in sight. He couldn't help but feel a tad worried. Stewie had survived tons of crazy situations such as this, but that didn't mean he was invincible. Brian ran inside the store and waited by the door for the child.

_Come on, Stewie!_

With each passing second, Brian grew more and more worried, but his worry was put on hold, once he detected the sound of chewing coming from inside the store. He followed the sound all the way to the meat section where he found several zombies feasting. He backed away, hoping to leave the area undetected, but accidently ended up bumping into one of the shelves, causing a couple of cans to fall to the ground. The clatter caused the zombies to turn their attention toward him. Upon noticing the dog, the zombies began making their way towards him. Brian gulped and fumbled with his pistol. He fired off a shot and missed. His hand was shaking, making it extremely difficult to aim properly. He fired again, and clipped one of the zombies in the shoulder.

"Damn it!"

He shot and missed again. By this point, the zombies were getting dangerously close, so the dog just decided to make a run for it. He ran back the way he came, but was stopped by Stewie.

"Whoa, slow down, Brian. What's going on?"

The canine didn't say anything, instead deciding to just point out the obvious group of zombies currently chasing him. Stewie, seeing how panicked the dog was, sighed, aimed one of his pistols, and fired seven times. Seven bodies dropped to the floor. Brian just stared, amazed.

"Come on. I'm sure our gunfire attracted some more zombies. We need to lockdown this store before it's overrun."

Brian followed Stewie back to the front of the store. Sure enough, some of the zombies they had previously lured away had heard the gunshots and were now making their way back towards the store. Thinking fast, Stewie shut the doors and locked them. He then ran over to a cooler full of ice cream snacks and motioned for the dog to help him push it in front of the door. The dog wasted no time in aiding his little buddy. As soon as that door was blocked off. They both ran toward the other door. The zombies were closing in. It wouldn't be long before they were surrounding the building. They locked the other door and pushed another cooler in front of it just as the zombies reached the store. The monsters clawed and banged on the glass, but the doors held strong. Both Brian and Stewie breathed a sigh of relief, but they didn't have time to sit and rest. The doors were holding for now, but they wouldn't hold forever. Stewie spoke up.

"I'll go find us some bags. You go ahead and start getting things together. It would probably be best if you focused on finding only snack foods. We'll be able to carry more of them than we would any other type of food, and they'll last longer too."

Stewie pointed behind Brian.

"There's a whole shelf full of candy bars and chips. That seems like a good place to start. I'll meet you back over there once I get the bags."

The child turned and ran down a nearby aisle. The dog followed Stewie's advice and began filling his arms with as many snack foods as he could carry. A couple of minutes later, the boy returned with two backpacks. He unzipped one, and Brian dumped the contents of his arms into the bag. They kept this up until the bag was completely full. Brian picked up the bag and put it on.

"I'll carry this one."

The boy nodded and unzipped the other bag, which they proceeded to fill up with water bottles. Once they were done with that, Stewie put on his bag. The boy seemed to struggle with the weight, but after awhile it looked like he had it under control. The two of them looked out the windows and saw that the zombies were still struggling to get in. Stewie turned toward the back of the store and pulled Brian with him.

"We aren't getting out that way. This store must have a back entrance. Hopefully, those monsters are too focused on the front to worry about the back."

The boy went to run toward the back but was stopped when he felt his arm being grabbed by the dog.

"Where exactly are we supposed to go once we get out of here? Have you even thought about that?"

Stewie yanked his arm free.

"As a matter of fact, I have. I figured we could head for your apartment."

Brain was puzzled by this.

"My apartment? Why would we go there? Shouldn't we be trying to get out of the city? You know, finding a place without fucking zombies at every turn!"

Stewie shook his head.

"There's no telling how far this zombie infestation has spread, so there's no sense in trying to escape when we have no bloody idea of where to escape to. Your apartment is on the fourth floor of your building. It'll be difficult for the zombies to reach us up there, and we'll only have to worry about keeping them from entering through a single door. It's the best option I can think of at the moment."

The dog couldn't argue with Stewie's logic. It was the best they could do for now. At that moment, the two of them heard glass crashing as one of the zombies had finally succeeded in breaking through one of the doors and was currently climbing over the cooler. The two of them ran as fast as they could to the back of the building and into the store's warehouse where they began searching for the exit. All the while, Brian could hear the zombies getting closer and closer. They finally happened upon a garage door that was most likely used to bring in goods from the delivery trucks. Stewie quickly found the controls and pressed the switch to open the door. As the door began rising, Brian turned to find several zombies that had followed them into the warehouse. He began to panic again, but stopped himself before it got out of control. He took a deep breath, aimed his gun, and fired. The bullet went right through the head of one of the zombies causing it to fall over. Brian fired again and put another one down. The power he was feeling was incredible, and it wasn't until he heard Stewie shouting his name that he noticed the garage door had raised enough for them to escape.

"Brian!"

The dog snapped out of it and ran after Stewie, who had already crawled under the garage door. Realizing the zombies wouldn't be able to follow after them for a while. They made a break for it, running away from the building and down the street. Brian's apartment was several blocks away, but they couldn't stop and rest because the zombies were now aware of them. They may have been slow, but what they lacked in speed, they more than made up for in numbers. Everywhere Brian and Stewie turned there was another group of zombies coming after them. For a while, it felt like there was no escape. All they could do was run. Eventually, the running began to take its toll, especially on Stewie who was still having a hard time dealing with the cold weather. Before long, the child couldn't take it anymore. He fell to the ground gasping for air. Brian noticed Stewie was no longer running beside him and turned back to see the boy doubled over in pain.

"Stewie!"

The zombies weren't far behind the infant, but Brian wasn't about to leave his friend behind. He ran back, picked up the child, and began running again. He looked down at the boy in his arms.

"I'll run. You shoot."

The boy nodded and climbed up so that he could see over Brian's shoulder. Any time a zombie got too close, he put it down quickly, which began to happen more and more as the dog began to run out of breath. The apartment was only a couple more blocks away. Brian summoned all the strength he could and made one last mad dash for the building. His sides ached, but he ignored that. All that mattered right now was getting Stewie to safety. His body was on autopilot nothing was going to stop him. He rounded the corner and stopped at his apartment building which had three zombies in front of it. He aimed his gun and fired. One, two, three bodies fell to the ground just as the dog rushed inside and locked the doors. He didn't stop there. Once he was sure the door was secure, he ran over to summon the elevator. Unsurprisingly, there were zombies inside the building. A couple of zombies proceed to walk towards them, but Stewie shot them dead before they were even a real threat. There were still other zombies coming towards them, but the two of them were both running low on ammo. Stewie shot and killed a couple more zombies. The elevator was still a couple of floors away, and the zombies were closing in. Brian decided it was time for drastic measures.

"Fuck this!"

The dog set down Stewie and raised his shotgun. He took aim, fired, and blew away several zombies, giving them just enough breathing room to get on the elevator as it finally arrived. Brian pressed the button for the fourth floor and rapidly began tapping the button for the doors to close. He took one last shot, killing a couple more zombies that had gotten too close, before the doors shut. As the elevator began its ascent. Brian picked Stewie back up.

"My apartment is the third door on the left. We should be able to make it. We're almost there, Kid."

The elevator reached the fourth floor, and the doors opened. Brian peeked down both ends of the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. There were no zombies in sight. He ran to his apartment door and opened it quickly. Once inside, he proceeded to lock all the locks on the door. He then set Stewie down on the couch before pushing it in front of the door. Satisfied, they were safe, he allowed himself to collapse onto the couch next to Stewie. The boy climbed next to the dog and pushed his body into the fur in an attempt to warm himself up. Brian instinctively wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him in as close as possible. Without thinking, he kissed the child on the top of the head before giving in to his exhaustion and falling into a deep and much deserved sleep.


	3. Part III

When Brian finally woke up, it was dark outside, and Stewie was still lying next to him, awake. The dog yawned and sat up while keeping his grip on the boy.

"Have you been awake this entire time?"

The child looked up at him.

"I woke up not too long ago. I didn't move because I didn't want to wake you up as well."

The boy removed the backpack he was still wearing and took out two bottles of water.

"Here, drink this. You need it."

The dog took one of the bottles and drank from it eagerly, and Stewie did the same with his own bottle. After several large gulps, Brian stopped drinking to remove the backpack he was wearing and retrieved a bag of chips for him and Stewie to share. There was no telling how long they were going to be here, so it was important that they did what they could to make the food last. He opened the bag and extended it out to the baby, who took a couple of chips to snack on. For a moment, they ate in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Brian had missed this. It had been so long since the last time he had just hung out with Stewie like this, and for the first time in a long while, he felt content. The silence was broken as Stewie spoke.

"You were great out there today, Brian. You really came through for me. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

The dog smiled.

"Hey, it was nothing. I wasn't about to let anything happen to you."

The boy smiled back up at him.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

The child's smile faltered as he continued talking.

"After you left, I began to believe that you really didn't care about me anymore. I know you said you left because you thought it was what I needed, but after awhile, I began to think you had done it just because you were sick of being around me. I thought that me coming out about how I felt was the last straw for you, that maybe you left because I was nothing but an annoyance in your life."

The infant lowered his head.

"That's why I didn't come find you, even though I knew that you were just a city away this entire time. I didn't see the point in it, but these past couple days have done nothing but prove that you really did care about me, and you still do. For a while, I thought I had lost my best friend, but now, I have him back."

Stewie hugged the dog.

"I missed you so much, Brian, and I don't ever want to lose you again."

Brian returned the hug. The entire time Stewie had been speaking he had made careful note of the words the child had used. He was still trying to determine if Stewie still loved him, but it was looking more and more like the child had moved on. This made him both happy and sad.

_This is good, Brian. He just sees you as a friend now. Whatever feelings you may have for him are best kept locked away. Remember, no good could come from a romantic relationship like that._

As they continued to hug, Brian began to feel that pang of longing he had experienced back at the gun store. He pulled away from the child, trying to suppress that feeling.

"I missed you too, Stewie, and I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

After one last exchange of smiles, they went back to their snacks before going back to sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

For the next couple of weeks, Brian and Stewie were able to live rather comfortably in Brian's apartment. One of the first things the dog worried about though was how he would handle a Stewie diaper situation, but lucky for him, it turned out that Stewie had taken the initiative and potty trained himself sometime during the last several months, which was something Brian had also done since the owners of his apartment building hadn't taken to kindly to him defecating on their lawn. Another problem arose though once the days began to drag on, but this issue was easily remedied by Brian's large collection of books, which they spent a good majority of their time reading together in order to keep themselves occupied during the long days. Both of them enjoyed having so much spare time to rebuild their friendship. Before long they were back to their usual antics complete with witty banter and gay jokes at the other's expense, and with each passing day, the initial coldness the dog had noticed from the child began to dissipate more and more. At first, Brian struggled with his feelings for the child, but the boy gave no sign that he was at all interested in that kind of relationship anymore. Brian decided the best thing to do was to repress his feelings, and the longer he did this, the easier it became. After all, they were happy now, so there was no reason to ruin everything all over again. They were both happier than they had been in a very long time, but things couldn't stay that way forever. Eventually, the food they had gathered and what was left in Brian's apartment finally ran out. That wasn't the only problem though. A couple of days before that happened, all of Brian's utilities shut down, leaving them with no heat or water. Stewie did his best to act like he was ok, but Brian could tell that the cold was having a nasty effect on him. If they stayed there any longer, Stewie could become seriously ill, combine that with the possibility of them starving to death, and it was obvious that the time had come for them to venture out into the dangerous streets of Providence once again, and this time they would have to find another place to stay. Before they left, Brian packed up a couple of his most treasured possessions. He didn't know how long he would be gone, so he figured he might as well take the things that were most important to him. Stewie had nothing to pack, but the dog made sure to include some books the kid could enjoy. Once all the packing was done, they retrieved their weapons from their first adventure into the zombie wasteland formerly known as Providence and what little ammunition they had left. Everything was ready. They decided it would be a good idea to take Brian's Prius, which was parked right outside. That way they could travel further, while still being protected. Hopefully, they could find a safe haven of some kind or even better, other survivors. Instead of taking the route they took last time, this time they decided to take the fire escape. Brian grabbed his keys and ran over to join Stewie by the window he had already opened.

"Ready, Kid?"

The smirk the child gave him was the only answer he needed. He helped the child out before exiting the building. The both of them observed the ground below. There was a very large crowd of zombies stumbling through the street to the far right, leaving the path to Brian's Prius clear. They quickly made their way down the fire escape and over to the parking lot, ducking behind the other cars to avoid being seen. Once they were by the Prius, Brian unlocked the door and opened it slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible until they were safely inside. Stewie climbed into the passenger seat and Brian tossed him the bags for him to throw into the back seat. With the luggage loaded into the vehicle, Brian hopped into the driver's seat. He placed the key in the ignition and looked over at the crowd of zombies several feet away, knowing that as soon as he turned the key, the zombies would be aware of their presence. He didn't like this, but there was really no easy option in this situation, and as risky as this was, it was their best bet. He took a deep breath, shut his door, and started the engine. At the sound of the revving engine, the zombies looked over, prompting Brian to speed away out of the parking lot and in the opposite direction. The street was clear for now, but as the other zombies in town took notice of the sound of the speeding car, they began to make their way out onto the road. In no time at all, the streets were filled with the walking dead. Brian swerved out of the way of as many zombies as he could, but he couldn't do anything about the ones that insisted on throwing themselves at his car.

"Brian, watch out!"

The dog huffed, annoyed and spoke through gritted teeth.

"I'm doing the best I can here, Stewie!"

It became apparent very early on into their drive that the collisions were taking a toll on the vehicle. They were off to a very bad start, but Brian pressed on. He turned into an empty parking lot and cut through it onto another street that was clear of zombies. For a moment, they were in the clear, but it wasn't long before that road was full of the monsters.

"Oh, come on!"

And it began again. Brian did everything he could to avoid any collisions, but it was impossible to avoid all of them. Still, he knew he was very close to the edge of the city, and with any luck, the main highway would be clear. He just needed to make it a little bit further.

_Almost there._

At that moment, a rather obese zombie tossed itself at the windshield. The impact, combined with the several before it, was enough to shatter the windshield, causing both Brian and Stewie to shield their eyes. It was only for a second, but that second was enough for the dog to lose control of the vehicle and veer off the road into a light pole. Stewie slammed into the dashboard and Brian went face first into his steering wheel. The horn went off and began wailing endlessly. They were both dazed, but they pulled themselves together quickly. The zombies began reaching for them through the busted windshield. Brian did a quick assessment of the damage to his vehicle. It was totaled. There was no way they were driving away from this. The two of them climbed into the back, and aimed their weapons. The zombies were all trying to get inside the vehicle at the same time, which resulted in them blocking each other so that it was difficult to make it into the car. Brian took the opportunity and blasted a group of them with his shotgun.

"Stewie, hand me another round!"

The infant did as he was told, while taking down a couple more zombies of his own. It was clear that they didn't have enough ammunition to take all of the monsters down, but if they were going to go down, they were going to go down fighting. Shot after shot was fired. There was no telling how many zombies they killed, but it was satisfying all the same. Brian retrieved the last shotgun shell from Stewie and took out another group of zombies. They both tossed away their weapons and began trying to think of a way out of their dire predicament. Stewie climbed into the very back and began rummaging around. When he returned, he was holding a tire iron and the rod of a car jack. He handed Brian the tire iron.

"Hit them in the head with this."

Just as he grabbed the tire iron, one of the zombies finally made it into the car. It reached toward the dog, but Brian was quick and began bashing the head of the zombie with the tool until it was mush. This wasn't like shooting them, while that was gruesome to a degree, this was a whole new level of awful, but Brian didn't think about that. He was just focused on surviving, and with each new threat that made itself known, Brian wasted no time in beating it into submission, and Stewie had no problem doing the same. The bodies began to pile up, and it was getting harder and harder for the zombies to get inside the car. The dog chuckled.

_We might actually have a chance here._

But still, the zombies were persistent, and they weren't about to let anything stop them from getting to fresh food. Brian and Stewie had no idea how long they had been fighting off the horde, but after awhile, they began to get exhausted from the constant struggle. The smell of rotting flesh wasn't helping either. Brian wanted to puke, but he held it in, not willing to let his guard down for a second. This went on for what seemed like an eternity. They were getting weaker and weaker, making it incredibly difficult to use their melee weapons. Brian could feel himself fading away as he struggled to remain conscious. Everything was getting to him. He couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed.

"Brian!"

Stewie was above him looking down, worried. The dog wanted to keep going, if for no other reason than to protect Stewie, but he had reached his limit.

_I'm sorry._

That look in the child's eyes killed him, but then there was something else. He heard the sound of rapid gunfire, which was soon followed by the sound of his trunk being opened.

"Grab them, and let's get the hell out of here!"

Before his eyes shut, he saw a pair of hands pick up Stewie. As he lost all consciousness, he felt his body being dragged out of the car.

_I'm so sorry._

* * *

When Brian finally woke up, he was in a bed surrounded by a bunch of strangers. He looked to his left and saw Stewie sitting beside him. The baby was giving him a concerned look.

"Hey, Buddy. You feelin' ok?"

The dog was confused but relieved. He had thought for sure that he and Stewie had died in that car, but here they were, alive and, at least he was assuming, safe. He smiled at the boy.

"I'm fine."

He stretched and sat up.

"What happened?"

One of strangers answered.

"We saved your sorry ass. You're lucky we we're able to find you because any longer in that car, and the two of you would have been zombie chow. What were you thinking driving your car into a bunch of zombies?"

Brian looked over to the man that had spoken. He couldn't have been much older than twenty and he was carrying, what Brian assumed was, a machine gun of some kind. The dog didn't like the tone the man used, so he made sure to speak sternly.

"Well, I wasn't exactly trying to hit them. We were trying to get out of the city and find a safer location. We didn't have a choice. It was leave or die."

It obvious from the look on the man's face that he didn't take too kindly to Brian's response, and it pleased the dog to know he had irritated him a bit. The man went to say something else, but he was stopped by woman.

"You'll have to forgive David. He thinks just because he's saved a couple of people that makes him superior to the rest of us."

The woman had been standing by Brian since he'd woken up, but the dog hadn't really taken the time to notice her until now. Like David, she couldn't have been much older than twenty, but she wasn't carrying a gun like the rest of the men surrounding him. She was very pretty with her blonde hair, shapely curves, and beautiful green eyes. It had been so long since he had seen a woman who wasn't trying to eat him alive, so the dog decided to seize the opportunity and put on the charm. He put on a suave smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name. I'm assuming it's Angel."

The woman rolled her eyes but chuckled amused.

"That was pretty bad...but cute."

She extended her hand.

"I'm Mara."

The dog took her hand and shook it lightly.

"I'm Brian."

There was silence for a moment that was quickly interrupted by Stewie clearing his throat.

"Oh, and this is my little buddy, Stewie."

Mara looked over and waved at the baby.

"Hi, Stewie."

The child didn't say anything, but this didn't faze Mara in the slightest.

"He's adorable!"

She turned her attention back to Brian.

"So, you've been taking care of this little guy?"

_Ahhh. So she likes kids._

"Oh yeah. Little Stewie lost his family during the initial attack, and I've been keeping him safe ever since."

Their conversation was interrupted by David.

"It's amazing you were able to keep him alive this long."

Mara turned to give David a scolding look.

"Just stop it, David. Just because everyone wasn't as prepared for a zombie invasion as you, doesn't mean they're incompetent. Brian has managed to survive this long while still taking care of a toddler. He may not be a zombie expert like you, but he's obviously an intelligent and caring individual, so the least you could do is stop condescending him every chance you get."

David glared at Brian but didn't say anything in retaliation. Instead, he motioned for the other men to follow him and left area. With the men gone, Brian was finally able to look around the room he was in, and to his surprise, it looked a lot like a furniture store. He forgot about his wooing of Mara for a second as question after question began to enter his mind.

"So, Mara. Where the hell are we?"

The woman sat down on the bed in preparation for a long explanation.

"You and Stewie were rescued by, my brother, David and his men, and they took you back here, Providence Place Mall. You see, David has been obsessed with zombies for as long as I can remember. He's read everything about them, and he put a lot of effort into developing a plan just in case a zombie apocalypse were to ever actually happen."

She laughed morbidly.

"I thought he was crazy. I mean, that stuff was only supposed to happen in movies and such, but it was for the best because as soon as he found out about the zombies, he put his plan into action. David got a group of his friends together, all of them just as into zombies as he is, and together they cleared out and secured this mall before the town was completely overrun. It's served as a sort of safe haven ever since. There's plenty of food and water, and David and the guys made sure to stock up on a whole arsenal of weapons. We'll be able to stay here safely for months. But that's just not enough for David. He isn't content just sitting here waiting to be rescued. He enjoys going outside and hunting those monsters. I've tried to convince him to stop, but he won't listen. I guess it's a good thing though because if he hadn't been out and about with his friends, they never would have heard your horn, and they never would have found and rescued you."

Mara stood up and picked up Stewie who struggled against her grip.

"If you're feeling ok, I'll show you around and introduce you to the other survivors we've found."

She pointed at the ground before continuing forward.

"Your bags are right there."

Brian quickly hopped out of the bed, grabbed the bags, and followed the woman. She led him to another section of the furniture store which had different areas set up as living spaces for different people. They stopped by a male teenager sitting on a couch.

"This is Pierce. He was one of the first survivors David found. They saved him from a group of zombies who were chasing him down the street."

Brian extended his hand and the teenager stood up and shook it.

"Hey, Pierce. I'm Brian."

The dog motioned toward the baby in Mara's arms.

"And this is Stewie."

Pierce let go of his hand and sat back down.

"What's up, Brian. It's always good to see another survivor."

Mara motioned for the dog to follow her in a different direction and led him to a middle aged male who was sitting in a recliner and reading.

"This is Barry. He was the next person saved by David and his friends."

Barry didn't seem to notice them as he was caught up in the book he was reading. Mara cleared her throat.

"Barry."

The man's eyes shot away from the book and up to Mara. He smiled.

"Oh, hello there, Mara."

He looked over at Brian.

"I see David found another one."

Barry stood up and extended his hand which Brian took enthusiastically.

"The name's Brian. Do you mind if I ask what you're reading there?"

The man quickly spun around to pick up his book and hand it to the dog.

"I was just in the middle of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's  _A Study in Scarlet_. I'm a huge fan of mystery novels, more specifically Sherlock Holmes, and I just discovered several of the Holmes novels in one of the bookstores, so I decided that now was as good a time as any time to start reading them again."

The dog looked over the book and paged through it before returning it to Barry.

"Once you're done with it, do you mind if I borrow it. I'm not too familiar with Doyle's work, but I'd love to give his books a try."

A huge grin spread across the man's face.

"I should have it done by tonight. If you come back here, I'll gladly lend it to you."

Brian's tail began to wag at the prospect of some new reading material. Mara motioned for him for follow her again, but before he did so he made sure to bid a proper farewell to Barry.

"Thanks. It was pleasure meeting you, Barry."

The man sat down.

"Likewise, Brian. Likewise."

With that he began reading again.

Brian followed Mara to yet another man who was lying down on a couch. Before they reached the man, however, Mara stopped him and began speaking solemnly.

"That's Michael. He…doesn't talk to us. The poor man lost both his wife and son during the initial attack, probably watched as they were eaten alive. David found him locked in the storage room of a toy store not too far from here. He was mumbling to himself about what happened. Once we got him here, he just shut down. He eats and drinks what we bring to him, but other than that, he does nothing but lay on that couch."

Brian just stared at the man in sympathy.

"That's…terrible."

Mara put a hand on his shoulder and led him away from Michael. She led them to a deserted part of the store and handed Stewie to Brian.

"Well, that's everyone. You and little Stewie make yourselves at home. You're welcome to call any part of this store your own so long as you don't try and take someone else's spot, though I'm sure you won't try and do that. Also, make sure you let David know if you want to go somewhere else in the mall. He may be a jerk at times, but he'll keep you safe."

She gave Stewie a pat on the head who proceeded to huff in annoyance.

"I've got to go help him get food together for tonight, but I'll talk to you later. Ok?"

With that she turned to leave. Brian watched as she left, taking in her womanly beauty. His ogling was interrupted by Stewie.

"What the hell was that all about?"

The dog looked down at the baby in his arms who looked far from pleased.

"What are you talking about?"

The boy placed his face in his palm and sighed before looking back up at the dog.

"I'm talking about that whole bit about "little Stewie" and then, you allowing that harlot to carry me around as if I'm incapable of walking around on my own. You of all people should know how much I hate being treated like a normal person my age!"

Brian saw Stewie's point, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"I'm sorry, Stewie. I guess I got carried away. But did you see that girl? That's the hottest piece of ass I've seen in a long time, so can you blame me for doing everything I can to hook up with her?"

The boy frowned, not saying anything. Brian set him down.

"Look, Kid. Just go along with this for a little while. I think I have a really good chance with this girl."

The child's frown never left his face as he sighed in defeat.

"Alright, but I'm only doing this because you're my friend. Just remember you owe big time for this one."

A large grin spread across the dog's face, and he bent down to embrace Stewie in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Stewie. I promise, I'll make this up to you."

The infant sighed yet again but still patted the dog's back.


	4. Part IV

For the next week or so, Stewie went along with Brian's game, using Mara's love of children as a way of getting closer to her, which resulted in Mara and Brian ending up spending a large amount of their time together, and it didn't take long for things to take a romantic turn, which seemed to upset her brother. The dog just chose to ignore him, though. It got to the point where Brian was convinced that he was in love with the woman. He believed that they had a special connection, and whenever he was around her, he was almost able to forget about his sick feelings for Stewie. In his mind, he'd finally found his female Stewie. Even with all of this going on, the dog still made sure to spend a good amount of time with his little friend. Most of that time consisted of him reading Sherlock Holmes novels to the tyke, usually at night before bed. It was the least he could do for the child, considering what the kid was putting up with, but really, it was silly to complain about anything at this point. He was cultivating a new and strong relationship, and the mall provided everything he and Stewie could ever need. After a day or so of wandering around the mall and collecting things, the two of them had set up a nice little living area of their own. There was even a room, that used to serve as the employee showers, that they were allowed to use to wash up whenever they felt they needed to, and that's where Brian was now, enjoying the soothing warm water as he thought of the love of his life, Mara.

_She really is the perfect girl for me._

The dog smiled, but his thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like footsteps coming from the entrance to the shower room. He stopped a moment and waited to confirm he had heard correctly. Sure enough, he could hear the footsteps getting closer.

"Hello?"

Nobody answered.

_Huh. That's strange. Why wouldn't they…_

Before he could finish his thought he felt a pair of arms grabbing him from behind. His first response was to panic, but he stopped once he heard the familiar chuckle of Mara. He looked up at the woman who was currently naked with him in the shower. He liked where this was going.

"Holy shit, Mara. You scared the crap out of me."

The woman leaned down and gave the dog a kiss on the lips. Brian returned the kiss but pulled away before things got too heated.

"What are you doing in here?"

Mara rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to be blunt about this, Brian. I like you…a lot. Before, the whole zombie invasion thing, I was never too interested in a committed relationship. I still dated and whatnot, but I never had any intentions of starting something serious."

She turned the dog around so they could better face each other.

"After seeing firsthand how the world had gone to shit and seeing how easily life could be taken from me, I came to the conclusion that I did want somebody I could give my all to, but the odds of finding somebody like that seemed slim once we got situated in the mall."

Mara knelt down so that she was face to face with the dog.

"Then, you and Stewie showed up, and after hearing about how you took care of him through all this, I wanted to get to know you better. It turned out that you were a really great guy that I really enjoyed being around and was actually rather attracted to. I've been thinking about that for the past couple of days, and I've decided, I don't want to wait. The old rules don't apply. People you care about could wind up dead at any moment, so it's best that we not waste any time."

She wrapped her arms around the canine's neck and pressed her forehead against his.

"I want to be with you, Brian because, right now, no one else will do."

Up until this point the dog had been thrilled by the sudden turn of events, but after hearing those last five words, he couldn't help but be reminded of the day Stewie had confessed his feelings to him, and that was all it took for his own feelings for the child to begin bubbling to the surface. A minute ago he had been excited, but now all he could feel was guilt.

_Damn it, Brian. This is it. Mara is practically giving herself to you. Why the hell are you thinking about him?_

The woman leaned in and gave him another kiss, but this time they went further than they had before as she pushed her tongue past his lips. The dog closed his eyes and returned the kiss. For a moment he felt nothing at all, but then the image of Stewie began to appear before him and he found himself putting as much passion behind it as he could.

_No!_

He yanked away. It was happening again. No matter what he did, he couldn't bring himself to not think about the kid. He looked down and saw that he was getting stiff. Mara noticed too and smirked, obviously believing that hardness was because of her. But it wasn't because of her. It was because of Stewie, and it would be wrong to allow this to continue. The woman reached out toward his length, but Brian stopped her by grabbing her arm. He sighed.

"Mara, stop."

The woman looked at the dog, confused.

"What's the matter?"

Brian shook his head at how silly this was and just knew he was going to hate himself for it later.

"I can't do this. I like you. I really do. You're smart and funny and sexy, but…"

He gulped.

"I'm in love with somebody else."

The woman frowned but didn't say anything.

"I thought this could work. Hell, I really wanted it to, but I can't do this with you because if I do, it won't be you I'll be thinking about. It will be that other person."

Mara stood up, disappointed.

"I'm…sorry to hear that."

She didn't seem angry, and that helped the dog feel a little better about turning her down like he had. He still felt like a total idiot, though. He knew it would be a long time before another opportunity like this arose. The woman turned to leave but stopped to say one more thing.

"If you really love this person, you shouldn't have bothered with me at all. I don't know what the situation is, but it's still like I said. If this person is still alive, you need to tell them how you feel. Otherwise, you'll regret never doing so."

With that she left, leaving Brian to ponder her parting words and finish himself off in the shower. It didn't take long. A quick fantasy of Stewie was all it took to relieve himself. He finished bathing, cut off the water, and stepped out of the shower to dry himself off.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

That was a question he would continue to ask himself for a good long while.

* * *

After the incident in the shower, things pretty much went back to normal. The only difference was the absence of Mara, which Stewie seemed to take great joy in. Still, Brian was extremely worried about how strong his feelings for the child had gotten since that day. All he ever found himself really thinking about was whether or not he should come out to the boy about how he felt. Mara had been right. The normal rules no longer applied, but did that really follow when the recipient of his affections was barely a toddler? He was so confused. Everything about he and Stewie being together was putrid and wrong, so why did the simple idea of it just feel so…right. His time with Stewie began to get more uncomfortable as it became harder and harder to keep his emotions in check, and he knew things would come to a head soon if he didn't find some way of releasing these pent up urges. So here he was, in the middle of the night, staring at the child as he slept next to him, inches away from his face and pondering whether or not to kiss him. He was fighting his desires tooth and nail, but he had to know what it was like. Sure, he had kissed the child before, but this was different. This time he would be acknowledging how he truly felt. He wanted to feel the baby's lips pressed against his more than he had ever wanted anything, and he hated himself for it. He felt his face getting closer as a force beyond his control willed him to make contact. This was going to happen. Hopefully, Stewie wouldn't wake up. He pressed his lips to the child's for a brief moment and quickly pulled away at the wonderful sensations it brought to him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. A small smile formed on the infant's lips, and Brian couldn't help but feel proud about it. He leaned in again, this time more comfortable, and kissed the boy longer. He dared not go any further than just simple smooching, for fear of waking the boy up, but in the end, it didn't matter because the child began to respond to the kiss even through his sleep induced state. The dog knew he was pressing his luck, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. The baby opened his mouth against his, and Brian took the opportunity to push his tongue into the toddler's mouth. He was in heaven. He kissed the boy, and the boy kissed back. This was so wrong, but for this small moment, it didn't matter. This is what it felt like to have Stewie, and it was wonderful. After awhile, he pulled away, satisfied. There was a large grin plastered on the boy's face and it made the dog smile in return. A part of him felt bad about taking advantage of the sleeping child, but he didn't let that bother him. He pulled the boy closer and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, Stewie."

It was the first time he had said it out loud, and it felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He closed his eyes and fell into a content sleep. In his dreams, they were together.

* * *

It had been difficult to keep proper track of time during the days he and Stewie had stayed in his apartment, but that wasn't the case at the mall. As it got further into the month of December, Brian was actually surprised to find out that the survivors were planning on celebrating Christmas. In a way, it made sense. It would be a way of keeping normality in what had become a far from normal world. Stewie was especially excited about the announcement, and that was enough for Brian to be happy about it as well. He wanted to make it special for the kid. Ever since the night he had kissed the boy, he had found himself more comfortable around the child. He wasn't about to tell the infant how he felt, but he had come to terms with his feelings. He loved Stewie. There was no arguing that fact anymore, but it was still for the best that he kept that information to himself, at least for now. However, just because he wouldn't say it to the boy, that didn't mean he couldn't do his best to show it to him, and this Christmas celebration was the perfect opportunity. He immediately knew what he wanted to give Stewie for a present, and he was sure it would mean a lot to the tyke. Brian had asked Barry to keep an eye on the child as he got things ready. There was no wrapping paper, but the newspapers that David and the others had handed out made a fine substitute. It didn't take him long to wrap the present and hide it away. The plan was to give it to the boy on Christmas Eve as soon as the group celebration was over. The day finally came, and Brian could feel himself getting incredibly excited. His eagerness to get on with the day made it seem like time had slowed down, causing his excitement to eventually turn to anxiousness. At last the celebration got underway. Everyone was there except for Michael. There was caroling and a brief exchange of gifts. Mara got Stewie a rattle, which the boy rolled his eyes at upon opening, and Barry gave Brian his very own copy of  _A Study in Scarlet_ , which the dog appreciated a great deal. Once the exchange was done everyone went their separate ways for the night. Brian and Stewie made it back to their living area and settled in. Stewie tossed his rattle to the ground and Brian placed his new book with the others in his bag. After that, he went to join Stewie on the couch.

"Well…that was fun, huh."

Stewie scoffed.

"Can you believe that woman. A rattle? A fucking rattle? What the hell am I supposed to do with a rattle!"

The dog laughed at this and decided now was as good a time as any to give Stewie his present. He reached under the couch and retrieved the package. Stewie looked over with a gleam in his eye.

"What's ya got there?"

Brian handed the present to Stewie with a big smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Stewie."

The baby took the package eagerly and wasted no time in tearing through the newspaper. When he saw what the present was he gasped.

"Brian, is this…"

He finished unwrapping what he could now see was a book, but it wasn't just any book. Stewie knew full well how important this book was.

"That's my first edition copy of David Copperfield. I want you to have it."

The infant marveled at the book.

"I…I can't take this from you. You love this book."

The dog could barely stop from saying what he was thinking.

_Not as much as I love you._

Instead, he kept that to himself.

"I do love that book, Stewie, but I want you to have it as a reminder of how much I care about you. I made a terrible mistake leaving you those many months ago, and this is my way of showing you that I'll never make that mistake again."

The boy looked over at him with a look of pure adoration.

"Thank you, Brian. I…I'll cherish this forever."

Brian's heart swelled upon hearing that. It took everything in him to not lean over and kiss the child right there. Stewie placed the book to the side and chuckled.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to top that. My present is pretty poor in comparison."

The dog's brow rose in curiosity.

"You got me something?"

The baby nodded and ran over to one of the bags he was using to keep his stuff in. He pulled out a piece of paper, ran back over to the dog, and handed it to him.

"It's not much. I had no way of going out on my own, seeing as everyone around this place sees me as nothing but a helpless infant, but I was able to talk Mara into getting me some craft supplies. I guess that wench is good for something after all."

The dog looked at his present, which he now realized was a Christmas card with a crayon drawing of him and Stewie on it. The drawing was on a regular piece of white paper, which was glued to a sheet of red construction paper, which was framed by an even bigger piece of green construction paper. At the top, the card read "Merry Christmas, Bry!" and at bottom was written "From: Your Friend, Stewie". Both of these messages were written in green crayon on the red construction paper. Brian loved it.

"This is great, Stewie."

He set the card down and hugged the boy.

"Thank you so much."

They continued hugging for several more seconds before pulling themselves away from each other. Stewie hopped back up on the couch and scooched himself as close as he could to Brian. He picked up the book and gave it to the dog.

"Read it to me again."

The boy laid his head in Brian's lap as the dog began reading from the tome. It gave them both a feeling of déjà vu that they both reveled in. Before Brian had finished the first chapter, Stewie was out like a light. He closed the book and placed it snuggly into the child's arms before lying down behind the boy and wrapping his own arms around him protectively. For a while, he just laid there, taking in the cozy feeling of snuggling against the object of his affections, before finally closing his eyes and letting sleep take him away to his fantasies.

* * *

Brian had convinced himself that he and Stewie no longer had to worry about the zombie threat, but that conviction was proven false when David and his friends got all the survivors together to inform them about something that was almost too horrible to believe, which was really saying something when they were living in a true to life zombie apocalypse. Upon hearing the news, everyone began to panic, except for Michael who just sat up to show that he had heard and was paying attention. Cries of "This can't be true." and "How could they do this." rang throughout the store. Brian and Stewie didn't say anything. David addressed the panicked group.

"I wish it wasn't true, but I saw it on the news with my own two eyes. The military is planning a series of bombings on Road Island, in order to wipe out the zombies. These bombings will commence sometime within the next forty-two hours. They have the entire state sectioned off from the rest of the country in hopes of containing the zombie threat."

Brian was frozen in place, but Stewie pulled him to side and got his attention.

"Brian, we can't stay here."

The dog nodded his head in agreement.

"I know, but what are we supposed to do? There's no way we'll be able to make it out of the state in time with the zombies in the way, and after what happened last time, I'm not exactly comfortable with heading back into the streets. We've been here for weeks. There's no telling what it's like out there."

The child looked down at the ground. Brian could tell he was thinking hard. After a couple of minutes, the boy looked back up at him.

"I know where we can go."

Stewie had a plan. Brian felt a brief moment of relief.

"Where?"

The infant looked at him seriously.

"Home."

It took the dog a second to realize what "home" Stewie was referring to, and even when he did, it did nothing but aid his confusion at the child's suggestion.

"You mean in Quahog? But…why would we go there? I doubt that house will be able to withstand a military bombing."

Stewie had to raise his voice due to the sound of the others getting louder.

"Most of the house won't, but I know a section that might. There's no guarantee that it will, but it's our best bet, my secret room."

Brian thought about this. He knew the room Stewie was referring to. He had only seen it in passing a couple of times, but it was hard to forget something as amazing as that. As he thought about this plan, Stewie kept talking.

"The steel surrounding that section of the house should be enough to survive a couple of air strikes. Of course, that depends on what kind of air strikes we're talking about here. If their nuclear, then were screwed, but I highly doubt the U.S. military is planning to detonate nukes on their own soil"

The dog looked over at the others who were still in a panic.

"If we're going to do this. We have to take them too. We can't leave them to die."

The boy frowned but didn't protest.

"They better not get in our way. That's all I have to say."

Brian rushed over to where David was standing, still trying to calm down the crowd. He didn't seem to be having any luck, and it took several shouts before Brian was able to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, everyone! Listen! I know where we can go that's safe. It's just a city away in Quahog."

The dog went to explain more, but he was stopped by David.

"Quahog? What makes you think we'll be safe in Quahog? That's where this whole mess began in the first place! Going there is suicide."

He turned back to the crowd.

"Don't listen to this moron. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Who's gotten you this far? I have. Who saved your sorry asses and brought you here? I did. I've taken care of you for this long, and as long as you stick with me, I'll continue to take care of you."

The group seemed to respond positively to David's speech, and really, Brian couldn't blame them. David had kept them safe throughout the entire zombie invasion, so sticking with him would seem like the best choice in this situation. Still, Brian had to try and win them over or else all these people were going to die.

"I'm not trying to usurp you here, David, but can you honestly say that you have a plan for this situation? I'm telling the truth. I know a place that's safe."

David looked at him, annoyed.

"Oh, really? And where might this place be?"

The dog knew that telling them the full truth would make him sound like a raving lunatic, but he had to give them some kind of answer.

"There's a bunker back at my old home on Spooner St. It will shield us from the bomb strikes."

Upon hearing this, the group began talking amongst themselves, debating whether or not what Brian was saying was true. It was clear that David didn't like having the attention stolen from him, so the man continued to condescend Brian's plan.

"Even if this bunker exists, we'll never make it to Spooner St. alive."

He faced the crowd again.

"I say we all head for the bank and stay in the vault until after the bombs drop."

Brian couldn't believe this suggestion.

"Wh-What? You can't be serious! The vault may not even be open, and even if it is, how the hell do you plan on getting everyone out once it's closed?"

David rolled his eyes.

"Simple, we'll take enough food and water to last us awhile. As soon as the zombie threat is extinguished someone will come to retrieve the money and find us."

_Moron!_

He turned back to the group.

"What do you say? Follow me to a place you know will protect us, or trust this mutt and hope that we'll be able to survive the trip for something that might not even be there."

With those words, it became clear that David had won the others over. Brian went to argue the man's points, but was interrupted by the sound of Mara's voice.

"Hey, has anybody seen Michael?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around. Nobody knew where he was. David motioned for his men to come with him and everybody else followed them. They began searching the mall for Michael, calling out his name but receiving no response. Brian and Stewie followed along, too, but Stewie kept trying to convince Brian that they needed to just hurry up and leave because the others weren't going to listen to the dog.

"Forget them, Brian. If they want to follow that psycho to their deaths that's their decision. If we leave now, we'll make it to the house in plenty of time."

Brian knew the child was right, but a part of him wanted to make sure that the others found Michael first, so he made up an excuse, hoping the child would buy it.

"I'm still not too sure how you plan for us to make it all the way back through Quahog alive. If David is right about one thing it's that going home is a huge risk."

The boy heaved a sigh in aggravation.

"I'll think of something. Let's just get out of here before it's too late."

Before the dog could respond, he heard Pierce calling to everyone that he had found Michael. Everybody looked where he was pointing, and what they saw made them all freeze in terror. Michael was in the process of removing the barricades from the front doors that were being used to keep the zombies out. David shouted out to the man.

"Michael! What the hell are you doing, Man!"

The zombies were crowded together on the other side of the glass doors pounding and clawing. Michael went to unlock one of the doors, prompting David to raise his gun.

"Don't do it, Michael!"

The man turned and looked over his shoulder at David.

"We're all going to die anyway. What's the point in fighting the inevitable?"

With that, Michael unlocked the door. David fired his weapon, killing the man, but it was too late. The door was open, and the zombies were making their way inside. David turned to everyone else and began shouting orders.

"Everybody, follow me to the armory! We need to get out of here now!"

David began running towards the back of the building, and everybody else followed suit. The arsenal was located in the very back in a room that used to be the central security observation room. When they got there, David and his friends started handing out the weapons to everyone except for Stewie, but Brian managed to sneak a couple of pistols away and hand them to the boy. It wasn't like anybody was paying that much attention to them. After all, they had far more pressing matter to worry about. Brian was handed a semi-automatic rifle and a couple of belts of ammunition. One of David's friends quickly demonstrated how to use the gun before moving on to another person in the group. After making sure that everyone was armed and familiar with their weapons. David led everybody out the back exit and into the employee parking lot. The ground was covered in snow.

"This way to the bank!"

Stewie grabbed Brian's paw to stop him. The dog turned around and noticed the boy was pointing at a rather large truck.

"That's it, Brian! We can take that all the way to Spooner St. If any vehicle will get us there, it's that."

The dog saw Stewie's point. It was a large heavy duty truck built for off-road driving and withstanding severe impacts. It would get them home with no problem. They could just drive over any zombies that got in their way. He took a step towards the truck and stopped. He turned back to the others who were heading in the opposite direction. It would probably be pointless, but he had to try one last time to convince them to come with him and Stewie. He called out to them, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. A large group of zombies had appeared around the corner. Not long after that, two more groups began coming out of the back exit and around the other corner. The parking lot was surrounded. Brian kept calling to them. Stewie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the truck.

"They can't hear you! There's nothing we can do! Just break this damn window already so we can get in and so I can hotwire this thing!"

Stewie was right. Brian didn't like it, but the kid was right. He smashed the driver's side window with the butt of his gun and unlocked the door. As he hopped into the driver's seat and began familiarizing himself with the layout of the vehicle, Stewie got to work starting the car. In no time at all, Brian heard the roar of the powerful engine. Stewie climbed over into the passenger seat, and Brian shut his door before driving off and out of the parking lot. They hit several zombies on the way out, but they proved no problem for the powerful truck. As he drove down the street, the dog still made an effort to avoid as many zombies as he could, but now he didn't have to worry about totaling the vehicle from hitting too many. He took a quick glance into the rearview mirror and watched as the mall faded into the background.

"I hope they're able to make it out ok."

Stewie saw how upset he was about leaving the group and placed a reassuring hand on the dog's leg, causing the dog to tense up.

"They were packing some heavy weaponry. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Brian knew the odds of the survivors getting out of there alive were very slim, but he took solace in Stewie's reassuring words. After all, he had done everything he could, and he wasn't going to risk his and Stewie's lives just so he could save a bunch of people he had known for less than a month. With that in mind, he refocused his attention on his driving and the goal of reaching his old home. He'd never imagined he'd be going there ever again, but here he was driving like a bat out of hell in the biggest hurry of his life to get back home. He chuckled darkly. Things had a funny way of working out sometimes.


	5. Part V

They arrived at Spooner St. under an hour later. Quahog had even more zombies than Providence, which was kind of odd since Providence had the larger population. Then again, David had said that the initial attack had begun here, so it sort of made since for the most zombies to be there as well. Whatever the reason for the large army of zombies, it didn't matter right now. What did matter was finding a way through them and into what used to be the Griffin house. Brian stopped the car in the front lawn right by the door. The truck was surrounded, but luckily, it was impossible for the zombies to get inside the truck since Stewie had taken the initiative and covered the broken window with a large piece of scrap metal, which had been lying around in the back of the truck, by shoving it, forcefully, in place. Now all he and Stewie had to do was figure out a way inside the house. Brian sat back in the seat and looked over at the kid.

"So…any plans?"

The child shook his head.

"We're surrounded on all sides. If we open the doors, those monsters will overwhelm us before we have a chance to get a single shot off."

The dog thought about this for a second before a large smirk grew across his face.

"So you're saying we need to kill as many of them as we can without getting out of the vehicle."

He put the car back in drive and looked over at the child. Stewie looked confused at first, but once he realized what Brian was about to do, a smirk of his own made itself known.

"Punch it, Dog!"

The canine felt a familiar sensation course through his body. It was that feeling of power he had felt the first time he had shot and killed one of the zombies except this time it was increased tenfold because he knew that those creatures didn't stand a chance against this monster of a machine he was driving. This was going to be fun. He slammed down on the gas and ran over the zombies that had been in front of the truck. He then began doing donuts in the yard, aiming to hit as many zombies as he could. It was a slaughter. Zombies were getting knocked over left and right, limbs were flying everywhere, and blood began to cover the vehicle. The dog eventually had to turn the windshield wipers on in order to see through the thick red mess. He looked over and could tell Stewie was enjoying the ride, and this thrilled him even more. Once the yard was clear, he drove out into the street and mowed down several more zombies. In time, he had managed to create a nice gap between the horde and the Griffin house. He drove back up to the door and stopped the car. There were still plenty of zombies coming their way, but at least now, they actually had a shot at getting into the house. He picked up Stewie and hopped out of the car, making sure to avoid some of the zombies on the ground that were reaching toward them. They reached the door, and Brian turned the knob. It was locked.

"Shit!"

Stewie took one of his pistols and aimed it at the door knob.

"Don't worry, Brian. I've got this one."

He fired at the knob, removing the lock and allowing him and Brian to get inside the house. They shut the door and pushed the couch in front of it to prevent the zombies from getting in. Sure they were safe, the two of them took a moment to sit and rest on the couch, coming down from the adrenaline rush they had both experienced. They hi-fived before getting up and heading upstairs. As they reached Stewie's door, Brian could have sworn he heard a faint moaning sound coming from somewhere down the hall. The tyke went to open the door but was stopped by Brian.

"Stewie, what was that?"

The child batted his hand.

"It was nothing, Brian. Come on. Let's get inside."

Brian could tell the kid was hiding something from him. He heard the sound again, this time coming from the opposite side of the hall. He looked down at Stewie sternly.

"What is that, Stewie?"

The boy looked to the ground, nervous, and sighed.

"I was hoping you wouldn't find out about this."

He looked back up at the dog with a sad expression.

"It's the others."

Brian's face fell. He knew exactly what "others" Stewie was talking about.

"You mean they-they're…"

The dog couldn't get the word out, so Stewie finished his sentence for him.

"Zombies. The others are zombies."

Brian fell to the floor in disbelief. Stewie put a hand on his shoulder.

"I told you they didn't make it. What did you think had happened?"

Brian wasn't sure what he had thought. Ever since Stewie had told him about what had happened to the family, he had never taken the proper time to acknowledge the loss. There was always so much going on, and when there wasn't he refused to dwell on it. Now, the truth was staring him right in the face, and it was breaking him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke through sobs.

"P-Peter…Lois…Chris…M-M-Meg…"

He wiped his eyes with his paw and stood up with a blank expression.

"We can't leave them like that."

Stewie sighed and readied his pistols.

"I locked them in their respective rooms before they turned. I may not have liked them, but they're still my family. I figured they deserved that much."

The dog nodded his head, turned to the right, and walked over to the door on the far end of the hallway which led to Meg's room. He went for the knob, and sure enough, it was locked.

"Hand me a pistol, Stewie."

The boy gave him one of his pistols, and the dog shot the knob off of the door. The door slowly opened to reveal the monster formerly known as Meg Griffin lying on the floor. Nothing could have prepared Brian for such a sight. The girl's innards were hanging out of her stomach and part of her face had been eaten away. The dog wanted to vomit, but he held himself together. The creature looked over at Brian and Stewie and began to crawl toward them, a deep gurgle emanation from her throat. Once she was a couple of feet away, Brian raised his gun and took aim.

_I'm sorry, Meg._

He fired a bullet right through her skull, ceasing her crawl. Brian could feel himself getting dizzy, so he grabbed the edge of the doorframe for support. Stewie spoke to him in a worried tone.

"You don't have to do this, Brian."

The dog shook his head rapidly, pulling himself together before turning to head toward Chris's door.

"I don't want them to be this way anymore. I wasn't here when they needed me, but I'm here now, and I intend to do right by them."

He took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for the next horror he was sure to witness on the other side of the door. He aimed, fired, and knob shot off the door. Pushing the door open revealed, what used to be, Chris, sitting on his bed. The imposter immediately noticed the meal in front of him, and it wasted no time in getting to its feet and walking toward them. Before Brian realized what was happening, the zombie was closing in. He fumbled with his gun, but before he had a chance to shoot, Stewie had already taken care of it. The lifeless body fell to the floor next to Brian's feet.

_I'm sorry, Chris._

He shut the door and proceeded to the other end of the hallway to Peter and Lois's room. This was going to be the hardest part for him. He cared about both Chris and Meg, but Peter had been his best friend in the whole world, and Lois was a woman he used to have feelings for. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle the sight of them…like that. Still, he needed to do this, so he swallowed hard and aimed his gun.

_Come on, Brian. You can do this._

The weapon shook violently in his hand. The dog did everything he could to will himself to pull the trigger, but it was no use. He dropped his arm in defeat.

"I can't do it."

Stewie rested his hand on the canines back and rubbed it there.

"Then I'll do it for you."

He looked down at the boy and gave him a weak smile. The child gave a similar smile in return before taking aim and shooting off the door knob. The door opened of its own accord, and even Stewie had a hard time looking at what was in the room. Both Peter and Lois were lying on the bed. The Peter creature was missing his legs and the majority of his torso, and the Lois monster was right beside him, only it didn't look like Lois. The…thing…was bloated to about the size of what Peter would normally be, and it was obvious what had occurred in that room. One zombie had fed on another. That was it. Brian couldn't take it anymore. He vomited all over the floor and fell to his knees. The two zombies looked at him hungrily. The zombie that had been eaten was of no danger since it lacked the ability to move, but the zombie that had done the eating dropped to the floor and began crawling towards Brian. The dog just stared into the lifeless eyes of what had previously been the Griffin family matriarch. He tried to pull himself together, but he just couldn't. Once it was clear that the dog wasn't going make the kill, Stewie aimed for the head and pulled the trigger. All that was heard was a faint clicking sound. His gun was empty. The zombie was dangerously close, and Stewie began to fear for the dog's safety.

"Brian, shoot it!"

The canine was still frozen, and made no effort to raise his weapon. The boy ran up to him and tried to push the mutt out of the room. The zombie grabbed the child's leg and began pulling him.

"Damn it! Brian!"

The dog finally came to and realized what was going on. Seeing Stewie was in danger, he quickly raised his weapon and shot the monster in the head. The body went limp, but the child's leg was still stuck in its tight grip. Brian crawled over to pry the fingers off of the boy. Stewie was complaining about almost getting them both killed, but the dog was still focused on the body.

_I'm sorry, Lois._

It took him a minute to gain the strength to stand up again. He looked over at the last monster who was snarling but unable to move off of the bed. The dog walked over to the side of the bed the creature was laying on, and placed his gun against the side of its head. The tears were coming again, and this time he didn't fight them. He let them flow freely as he gathered the strength to pull the trigger.

"I'm sorry…P-Peter."

For a brief moment, Brian could have sworn he saw a look of fear in the monster's eyes. He flinched from the shock, causing himself to pull the trigger and put his friend to rest. He dropped the gun and turned to exit the room. Stewie followed him out and shut the door before joining the dog beside the door to the child's room. He grabbed Brian's paw in both of his hands.

"Are you going to be ok?"

The dog didn't answer right away. He was still processing what had just happened. He'd done the right thing for his family, and that thought gave him a small amount of relief. The initial grief he had felt began to fade away as it was replaced by strange feeling of calm. His family didn't have to suffer anymore. They were at peace. He wiped his eyes, and smiled down at the boy clutching his paw.

"Yeah, Kid. I'll be fine."

He grasped the tots hand in his own, drawing on the other's strength and entered the room. Stewie led him to his toy box where he then pulled on a baseball bat sticking out of it. The bat ended up being a lever of some kind that activated the door to his secret room. The wall fell away revealing a large metal room filled with all sorts of weapons and gadgets. The child pulled for the dog to follow him and together they entered the room, the blast doors closing behind them, hiding them away from the rest of the world. Brian dropped the rifle and ammunition he had been carrying, sat down next to one of the walls, and pulled Stewie into his lap. He'd never needed someone as much as he needed this kid right now. He just sat there holding him with neither of them saying a word to each other. Brian held him tightly, as if he was worried the child could vanish at any moment. If he were to ever lose Stewie, that would be it for him. Yes, the loss of his family had torn him apart inside, but he really, truly  _needed_ this boy, and it was that need that began to awaken the dog's romantic feelings toward him once again. There was really no sense in hiding it anymore. He needed to tell Stewie how he felt. He had to know if there was still a chance they could be together. There was a chance they wouldn't make it through these bombings alive, and if this was actually it for them, he wanted to spend his last moments showing Stewie how much he cared. He turned the boy around and looked him in the eyes. The baby was looking at him, curious of the dog's intentions. Brian could hardly take staring at those beautiful eyes. He felt himself losing his resolve, so he turned his gaze away to recuperate. As he looked off to the side, something caught his eye. It was a folder on a nearby table with something written on the front of it. He couldn't make out the full word from the angle he was sitting at, but he was able to make out the letters Z and O. His heart sunk.

_No._

The dog put Stewie on the ground and stood up to walk over to the table.

"Brian, what are you doing?"

The canine didn't answer him. He was too focused on the folder. As he got closer he realized his fear had been confirmed. The folder was labeled "ZOMBIES". He picked up the folder and flipped through it. Inside there were several diagrams of the human bodies nervous system, most of them were focused on the brain, specifically the section of the hypothalamus that controlled hunger. The folder also contained a paper with a formula that was used to reactivate only that part of the brain in a dead human being. He dropped the folder. Stewie had created the zombies. By this time, the boy had made his way over to the dog. He laughed sheepishly.

"I guess I forgot that I had left that folder out."

The dog looked over at him with his mouth agape.

"Y-You did this…"

The boy looked down at the ground and began shuffling his feet nervously.

"Had you really not suspected it, Brian. I mean, how else did you figure this had happened?"

Brian knew the kid had a point. He should have suspected him from the beginning. Maybe he had suspected Stewie, but after hearing that the child didn't know what had happened, he decided to ignore it. He refused to believe it. Stewie had shown signs of giving up his evil ways, what could have provoked the child to do something as sick as reanimate the dead.

"Why did you do it, Stewie?"

He needed to know. The boy looked up from the ground with an expression that was a mixture of sadness and anger. The dog recognized it as the same look he had seen that day in the car when he had rejected Stewie. There were tears collecting in the child's eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

"I did it because of you."

Brian didn't know what to say, so he decided to just not say anything and allowed the infant to continue speaking.

"The zombies were a part of a scheme to take over the world. I'm still not sure what happened. All I remember, is finally succeeding at reanimating the corpse using my chemical compound. I didn't expect it to wake up so fast. The next thing I know, I'm flying across the room and falling unconscious after hitting the wall. When I woke up, it was gone. I ran downstairs and found the others dead. I locked them in their rooms and looked outside to see that there was already a large group of zombies in the streets. After that, I locked the door, got my jetpack, and left to get you."

The baby wiped some of the moisture that was collecting in his eyes.

"I didn't know what to do after you left me, Bry. For a while, I was deeply depressed. I had no drive to do…well, anything. And how could I? I'd lost the one person in the whole world that I actually gave a fuck about. What did you think was going to happen?"

The dog flinched at Stewie's shouting. The boy clenched his fists, took a couple of deep breaths, and continued at a reasonable volume.

"Then…my second birthday came and went, and you still hadn't returned. That's when I knew for sure you were never coming back. I decided to take your advice and move on. Bu-But I couldn't move on. The feelings were still there, and they were driving me insane. I had to find some way to bury them, so I turned to the one thing I had before I had you, my desires to conquer the world. That goal gave me a purpose again, and I clung to it with everything I had. Eventually, I pretty much reverted to my old self, only this time I forced myself to become even more self-sufficient. I didn't want to feel like I had to rely on anyone ever again. It was like turning back the clock. I guess it was my way of erasing everything I could that had anything to do with you."

Then the tears started falling. The boy's anger had fallen away, leaving only grief. He continued speaking, this time hindered by sobs.

"I n-never meant for anything th-this bad to happen! I j-just wanted a p-purpose again!"

Without a second thought, Brian leaned down to comfort the child with a hug. The boy hugged him back and sobbed into his chest, wetting the fur there.

"P-Please don't h-hate me, Brian. I c-can't lose you again."

The dog rubbed the boys back and whispered into the child's ear.

"I don't hate you, Stewie. I could never hate you."

It was the truth. Brian couldn't blame Stewie for this. If he hadn't left all those months ago, the zombie outbreak would have never happened and their family would still be alive right now. If there was anyone to blame, it was him, but there was no point in focusing guilt. The past was the past. They couldn't change that. All that mattered right now was that they had each other. The baby's crying began to die down as he looked up at the canine holding him so tenderly.

"I love you, Brian. I never stopped loving you."

The dog wasn't sure what to do next. A few moments ago he had been dead set on telling Stewie how he felt, but now the boy had beaten him to the punch. He wasn't sure what his next move should be. He could tell from the look in Stewie's eyes that the boy expected to be rejected again, but Brian wasn't about to make that mistake again. The dog smiled down at the object of his affections. His eyes focused on the child's lips, and before he knew it, he had leaned down and captured those lips in a fierce kiss. He could feel the infant gasp, but it wasn't long before the child's shock wore off and he began to return the kiss earnestly. The dog pushed his tongue into the boy's mouth, which needed little prompting to allow him access. Stewie moaned into the kiss, obviously enjoying himself a great deal. From that point on, their kiss became frenzied, erupting into a full on make out session. They fell to the floor and allowed themselves to get lost in each other. Brian groped the child's ass, earning another moan from the boy, which caused him to chuckle against the baby's mouth and pull away. They stared at each other for what felt like several minutes before Stewie finally spoke.

"Make love to me, Brian."

The child's voice was sweeter than honey to his ears, and he wanted nothing more than to take Stewie right there on the floor. Still, a part of him was worried that it would be too much too soon.

_Could Stewie's body actually handle something like that?_

"Are you sure, Stewie? Is that what you really want?"

The infant didn't say anything in response. He just nodded his head eagerly and giggled in anticipation. It was adorable. If Stewie really wanted it, Brian had every intention to give it to him. The dog sat up and got above the child. He began the process of undressing Stewie, undoing the buttons of the child's overalls as the boy reached up to unhook his collar. The collar fell to the ground, and Brian motioned for Stewie to stand up. The kid shot to his feet and did his part in helping Brian remove his shoes and socks before finally pulling the overalls from his legs. Without missing a beat, the dog proceeded to lift the child's shirt above and off his head, leaving the toddler in nothing but his underwear. Before the dog could do anything else, Stewie had removed his underwear and tossed it across the room. The child was already fully erect, a sight which made Brian's own cock make itself known. Stewie leaned down, took a hold of the length, and boldly began pumping it up and down. This took Brian slightly off guard, but he was in no way upset about it. He moaned loudly.

"Mmmmm. Goddamn, Stewie. You're not wasting any time, are you."

The baby smirked up at the dog he was pleasuring.

"I've wanted this for too long, Brian. I can't risk you backing out on me now."

The dog thrust his hips into the boy's hand and began panting.

"I don't think you have to worry about me backing out, Stewie. This is too damn good."

The child increased the speed of his pumping, making sure to keep in time with Brian's thrusts.

"Well, if you liked that, then you're going to absolutely love this."

Brian looked down to see what the boy was talking about and watched as the child engulfed as much of his member as possible for someone so small.

"Ohhhhhh!"

He grabbed on to the boy's head and started humping the orifice furiously. It didn't take long for him to start getting close to finishing, and it took a great amount of willpower to pull out before he was done. The blowjob he had just received had been amazing, but he knew there were better things to get to, things that would serve to pleasure both him and his lover. He grabbed the boy's shoulders and pushed him until he was lying down. The child flinched when his bare skin touched the cold metal floor but allowed the dog to do what was necessary for the next step. Brian lifted the boy's bottom up off the floor and leaned down so that his muzzle was inches away from Stewie's entrance. He delicately began licking the outside of the child's asshole.

"Mmmmm. Brian, that's wonderful."

The dog couldn't respond, but he was pleased to hear that Stewie was responding favorably to his ministrations. He kept lapping at the hole for a few more minutes before finally pressing forward so that he achieved penetration. The child let out a grunt in discomfort, but he made no move to stop the dog. Brian took this as a sign that it was ok for him to continue. He pushed his tongue in and out several times until he was able to get his tongue all the way inside the boy. Stewie was still grunting, but the sounds of discomfort were now mixed with whines that were born of pleasure. Upon hearing this, the dog began licking Stewie's insides vigorously, tonguing every inch of the baby he could reach. The sounds coming from Stewie were now only in response to the pleasure.

"Yes!"

Once Brian had the child nice and loose, he removed his tongue and set the infant back down. Stewie let out a low whine of disappointment, but the dog silenced him with one last kiss before they went any further. The boy wrapped his arms around the dog's neck and pulled him in as close as possible. After several seconds, they broke away. Stewie ran his fingers through the canine's fur.

"I'm ready, Brian."

That was all the dog needed to hear. Without another word he lined his organ up with the child's entrance and began to push in as slowly as he could. The boy shut his eyes tightly at the uncomfortable sensation, but refused to let it stop him from becoming one with his love.

"Keep going. I'm fine. It just feels…strange."

Brian could only imagine what Stewie was feeling, and he was hoping he wasn't hurting the tyke. That's the last thing he wanted. He trusted Stewie to tell him if things became too much, so he continued his slow deliberate thrust. Before long, he was fully inside the child up to his knot. He threw his head back in ecstasy. Being inside this kid was unbearably good. It was so tight. He was amazed he had managed to fit at all. He held himself back, allowing Stewie to get used to being so full. After a minute or so, the child opened his eyes and spoke to the dog.

"Move."

It was a command that Brian was overjoyed to obey. He started slow, working himself in and out of the boy at a steady pace and searching for that one spot he knew would drive the child insane. Stewie was breathing heavily, and the dog could tell that the infant was getting into it. Before long, he had the tot moaning just like before and making nonstop proclamations of satisfaction. Egged on by the sound of Stewie's voice, the dog began speeding up his thrusts, reveling in the amazing sensations he was experiencing.

"Ahhhhhh. Stewie."

He gave the boy a single hard thrust that caused the child to scream his name.

"Oh, god, Brian! Whatever you just did, keep doing it."

The dog chuckled through his moans. He had found the boy's sweet spot. Now that he knew where his target was, he began pounding into the child frantically, hitting the baby's prostate over and over. Stewie could barely take it. He began searching desperately for something to grab on to. He settled for grabbing the dog's arms and pulling forward so that they were face to face. They stared at each other while fucking like mad. Stewie began moving his hips in time with Brian's thrusts, hoping to add to the dog's pleasure.

"Mmmmm. Oh yeah, Stewie. Just…like…"

At that moment, Stewie climaxed, arching his back and shouting the dog's name over and over again. His muscles constricted, squeezing Brian's member and sending him over the edge.

"That! Ohhhh. Stewie! Stewie…Stewie!"

He shot stream after stream of hot cum into his lover, overfilling the boy. As Stewie came down from his orgasm, he kept squeezing the organ inside him, helping his partner empty everything he could. When his climax finally died down, Brian collapsed on the floor beside the boy. He slowly removed the sensitive member from his lover and gave the child a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you, Stewie."

The boy yawned and began petting the top of the dog's head.

"I love you too, Brian."

The child's eyes began to grow heavy, and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep. Brian pulled the infant into a spooning position against his body to keep the tyke warm. After awhile, sleep took him as well.

* * *

Stewie awoke to find the love of his life caressing his side tenderly. He laid there for a moment to enjoy the feeling before rolling over to face the dog. He kissed him passionately before speaking.

"How long have you been awake?"

Brian stretched his arms and yawned before answering.

"I've been up for awhile. I didn't want to wake you. I like watching you sleep."

The boy smiled, sat up, and stretched as well. He had no idea how long he had been asleep or how much time he and Brian had left, but somehow, none of that really mattered right now. The world outside had gone to hell, but he was the happiest he had ever been. Brian sat up and pulled the baby into his lap. The boy lay back against the dog's chest and sighed contently. He didn't know what came next. Would he and Brian survive this ordeal? If they did, where would they go from here? For once, he didn't have the answers, but…that was ok. It didn't matter what came next because he knew, no matter what it was, he and Brian would face it together. He could still hardly believe what had happened last night, and just the thought of it brought a unnaturally large grin to his face. He and Brian had faced many hardships in the past several months, but this, cuddling next to the dog and not having to worry about keeping his emotions in check, made it all worthwhile. He chuckled. The world outside was dead, but he had never felt so alive.

The faint sound of explosions could be heard coming from somewhere outside. Both Brian and Stewie closed their eyes, held each other, and waited.


End file.
